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RI.org Insanity on a Random Basis
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 328 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:51 am Post subject: RTSG Semi-Finals: Curiouser and Curiouser |
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Round Six - Semi-Finals
Curiouser and Curiouser
Once more the mists cleared, and once more the contestants gazed about. They stood on an immense clock face. The numerals on the clock face rose to about waist-high, and the multiple twisted hands of the clock drifted by overhead, marking a time that could be understood by no one. Off in the distance a giant grandfather clock towered over the scenery, pendulum gleaming in the nebulous light. In the nearer distance floated an enormous table, complete with a bewildering array of giant-sized chairs around its edge and a number of proportional teapots and cups on its surface. Closer to the clockface and group of sponsors, checkerboard-like stone floors and playing card shapes floated in space, connecting different areas but obviously needing a little fancy footwork to navigate. Ralph stared around, in obvious bewilderment.
"What the...? Where ARE we?" He poked a few buttons on his handheld, finally smacking the side of it a couple times before turning to the assembled group.
"Ah... I think my handheld's broken. It keeps insisting we're in Wonderland, but this... this..." He gestured, encompassing the twisted landscape and the swirling clouds on all sides; "This is not universe ALC 00001, where we were scheduled to go. Instead, we're in ALC 56920, which is obviously wrong, despite what this thing's telling me. I clearly remember ALC 1 being on the itinerary to start with, and I've been there before and liked i-"
As Ralph talked, a robed humanoid shape had flown closer to the assembled competitors. At this point it dove from high overhead, screaming. Several competitors covered their ears against the sheer volume of the scream. Before the others could react, the shape had stopped in midair, screaming directly at Ralph with almost hurricane force. Taken by surprise, Ralph stumbled backwards, his hat flying off to reveal a small pair of pointed horns high on his head, just below his thinning hairline. Ralph's foot stepped halfway off the edge of the clock face and he reeled for a moment, arms flailing.
The creature screamed again, and Ralph lost his grip on his handheld, the small console dropping rapidly out of sight into the swirling mists below. The taillike strip of paper some people had noticed in the third round slithered out from under his coat, lashing out and spearing into one of the heavy brass numerals on the clockface. Thus anchored, Ralph stepped forward into the gale, voice rising to a shout to make himself heard.
"By Section 5, Paragraph XXXII, Subparagraph B of the Interplanar Talent Charter, during the course of an Interplanar Event the Agent shall be possessed of the sole power to deal with any and all violations of the Charter that may occur!"
"Translation?" Nova shouted over the continuing scream.
"'You done fucked up, boy!'" replied Rayjack, just as loudly.
Ralph raised one arm towards the creature, and masses of red tape shot forth from his sleeve, entangling the flyer and shutting off its gale-force scream. Growling now, the short demon swung his arm several times, slamming the enwrapped boojum into various features of the clockface. As he brought it down onto one of the numerals, there was a sickening crunch, and the body went limp before dissolving a moment later. Ralph sighed and retracted the red tape back into his sleeve, then turned to the edge of the clockface.
"Oh boy." Ralph leaned out over the yawning abyss, one hand idly scratching at a horn, gazing in the direction of his lost handheld. "This isn't good."
"What?" Jason asked, worry etched on his face. "Are we stuck here or something?"
"Partially. That handheld was my means of observing and transporting the rest of you. I can head back to HQ by myself, but it'll mean leaving you all here by yourselves, and it'll take a while to get the paperwork done and get another handheld."
"How long?"
"Well... If I talk to Bal'sagörtheq and make sure it knows the matter's urgent... Maybe a day, a little less. Bureaucracy moves at its own speed, but it can be hurried a little." He thought for a moment, his paperlike tail switching nervously. "I hate leaving you all here without so much as a briefing, but I honestly can't help that. This should be based on Wonderland, since many semantic elements are the same, but I'm afraid I can't be more helpful than that. For pity's sake, be careful."
"Wait a moment." Culex levelled a finger at the diminutive demon. "You are a demon, are you not?"
"Yes, I am. You were almost correct in your intial appraisal, Mr. Do'Urden." Drizzt raised an eyebrow in surprise momentarily. Ralph continued. "I was a minor functionary from the Iron City of Dis, universe INF 52730, charged with recordkeeping. Hence the paper-like tail and all-around lack of color."
"What are you doing hosting this tournament, then?"
"Job dissatisfaction. I posted my resumé on several multiplanar employment sites and was eventually picked up as a talent scout by the Interplanar Talent Agency. My talent for analyzing and classifying souls comes in handy for them. The rest isn't important. I've got to get a new handheld and look into this matter before anything bad happens to you."
With a sigh, he snapped his fingers and disappeared in the familiar curl of smoke.
Jedah giggled.
"Great," muttered Conker, "We couldn't be deeper in cack if it was raining arseholes."
Location: Crazed Clockwork, American McGee's Alice
Special Rules: Insanity Randomized, Pastor of Muppets
Well, this is Wonderland, albeit a more... neurotic version. Technically the game American McGee's Alice takes place inside the catatonic neuroses of the girl Reverend Dodgson based the character of Alice on. That's right, you'rei nside someone's head. Here in her now-twisted version of Wonderland, the territory of the insane asylum she is held in becomes partially translated into her dream world. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, for instance, take on the cruel traits of a pair of orderlies. The Cheshire Cat becomes emaciated with ragged ears, but still possessing his immortal grin. Anyway, those characters and situations don't concern us very much at the moment. These are the Mad Hatter's demesnes, and he is truly mad. His companions, the March Hare and Dormouse, have been turned into half-mechanical horrors being tormented in the bowels of his clockwork fortress. You may find them and chat with them, but they're a bit... well, normal for the Hare and Dormouse, but not exactly coherent by our standards. As the overstory described, there are gears, tea tables, stone playing cards, checkerboard floors, and other Wonderland staples floating in midair, forming the surfaces you walk on. In addition, there are hallways made of distorted mirrors, rooms that look like they were taken from an insane asylum, pools of boiling-hot tea, and, of course, the enormous clock in the distance. You will need to do a little jumping and/or flying to get from one place to another, so be careful. Falling may not necessarily be lethal, but it would be inconvenient. In the game, if you fell, you'd wind up respawned back at the beginning of the area you were trying to cross.
Enemies
You are not alone in this neurotic fantasy. Fears and traumas, given form by the fevered imaginings of a young girl, roam the halls of her mind. Upon defeat, the enemies will most often fade into a thin mist of insanity a second or two after death.
Boojums: The creature that assaulted you at the beginning, Boojums are flying humanoid shapes that possess a deafening scream. The sheer force of the scream can also blow you around a bit.
Clockwork Knights: Clanking, rattling, grinding, and letting off gouts of boiling steam, these deviant Tinkertoys tend to blast you in the face with excess steam when you least expect them to, often following up with a rocket-propelled punch if you're too far away for their spinning strike to connect.
Phantasmagorias: Really creepy shadowy figures taller than a man. They can quite literally freeze you in your tracks and sap your mind of power if you let them, so do try to kill them quickly.
Lantern Spiders: These diabolical creations lie in wait for you over doorways and on walls, looking like part of the decor until they spring down to spray poison in your face or stab you with their needle-sharp legs. They look like a porcelain doll face when at rest, their legs blending into the shadowy architecture.
NPCs
The Dormouse: This sleepy character resides in a factory-like room with his friend, the March Hare, and a machine indutriously making Clockwork Knights from insane children. Poor Mousey has been turned into a half-mechanical monstrosity strapped to a table and being periodically bathed in laser fire. Oddly enough, he seems to have no concern for his predicament.
The March Hare: For the March Hare, it is almost always teatime, as after the Hatter sliced off much of his flesh and replaced it with clockwork, he bound the poor Hare to a hanging rack that dunks him into boiling tea every six seconds like an overgrown crumpet. He is saner than the Dormouse, but still no more coherent. The majority of his conversation will involve warning you to stay away from the Hatter and various rants about how Time never speaks to him anymore.
The Gryphon: The Gryphon has not yet been experimented upon by the Hatter, instead merely being locked in a cage. However, he will not talk much, stating only that he is waiting for the one who can free Wonderland. He might give you a riddle or two, though. Feel free to solve them, though. As this is the semi-finals, I unfortunately cannot grant items for exceptional posts.
The Cheshire Cat: We're all mad here, but Cheshire may be the sanest of the bunch now. Thin, mangy, ragged, but still grinning his famous grin, the Cheshire Cat, now with a nifty gold earring in one ear and tribal tattoos on his face and legs, is around. He knows just about everything that goes on, but will always be vague and puzzling about telling you.
You will not be seeing the Mad Hatter around, as I need him for overstory. If you need someone to pull a lever and trap you in a room or something, you can use him for that, but no combat, please. Alice is not here either.
Special Rule: Insanity Randomized Ralph has gone back to the Interplanar Talent Agency home office to get a new handheld. Thus, he is no longer able to watch you and make sure you're behaving. The one vote/ability per target rule is no longer in effect. You may target as many identical votes or abilities as you like on one person. Go nuts.
Special Rule: Pastor of Muppets While Ralph is no longer watching you, the Mad Hatter is. All actions this round must be public.
Really Trivial Pursuits
No WP/JP award this time. Instead, each right answer will gain you one point of healing. You might need it. Bonuses are given for more information, within reason. Remember, address is neored13@pobox.mtaonline.net .
1) What are the two kinds of Snarks?
2) What weapon is used in the final boss fight that is only available one other place in the game?
3) Name three ingredients for the shrinking potion.
Round Five Answers
1) Oghma
2) Urn, Portrait, Statue
3) Mention of Penultima ReRolled gets it. The words are passwords for prize images unlocked when finishing the game. I'm honestly not surprised no one got this. Note to self and all other following hosts: If using a quiz minigame in a round location that has a lot of fan-made content, only use official resources when planning the quiz. Although those of you that have NWN should look into obtaining Stefan Gagne's Penultima and Penultima ReRolled series, as well as Elegia Eternum and Excrucio Eternum. The guy's got skills.
All These People CAN'T Be Good For Her Sanity
Musculotonics
Drizzt Do'Urden - FRN 40231 - Rain - Guenwhyvar - 29 WP, 13 JP - Low Negative (HEALING CAP!)
Conker - CNK 00003 - AsylumXKP - 23 WP, 11 JP - Low Positive
Keitaro Urashima - LVH 00984 - Moogle - Tama-chan - 50 WP, 28 JP - Uninjured
Master Chief - HLO 07074 - Peptuck - Cortana - 30 WP, 14 JP - Medium Positive
Queen Brahne - ZDN 30201 - Simplistic Hero - 15 WP, 9 JP - Insane Positive
Red Okonogi (Alkaiser) - SGF 69580 - Thirdtwin - 46 WP, 27 JP - Very Heavy Positive
Cerebrotonics
Edward Wong Hau Pipelu Tivrusky IV - BBP 02438 - BlackMage - 11 WP, 23 JP - Medium Positive
Culex - SMR 42860 - Wayne - 25 WP, 47 JP - Very Heavy Positive
Lisa - SKN 29875 - Luna - Guri the Goblin - 21 WP, 43 JP - Insane Positive
Bud - SKN 29875 - Nif - 16 WP, 32 JP - Low Negative
Darth Malak - STW 65208 - San Draco - 24 WP, 40 JP - Low Positive
Viscerotonics
Sora - HCK 25006 - Baka - 24 WP, 24 JP - Insane Positive
Jedah Dohma - VSV 79523 - LordLocke - 17 WP, 17 JP - Heavy Positive
Hisame Shizumaru - SAM 29823 - CarlyCheeese - 28 WP, 28 JP - Low Negative (HEALING CAP!)
Cyan Garamonde - WOR 87349 - Magus - 36 WP, 36 JP - Low Negative (HEALING CAP!)
Sly Cooper - SLY 28930 - Procyon - 43 WP, 43 JP - Low Negative (HEALING CAP!)
Tachibana Asuka - SYD 32684 - Seril - 34 WP, 34 JP - Low Negative (HEALING CAP!)
Nova Shido - RYE 57230 - Helmar - Mokona - 41 WP, 41 JP - Medium Positive
Jason Soe - EVM 00002 - Curley W - 31 WP, 31 JP - Crispy Positive (DAMAGE RECORD!)
Akira Kazama - RVS 37305 - Kyo - 27 WP, 27 JP - Low Negative (HEALING CAP!)
Fallen
Muscle Cramps
Knight Rayjack - IZN 00522 - Pin - 8 WP, 6 JP
Terry Bogard - KOF 92004 - Switchblade - 8 WP, 6 JP
Nosferatu Zodd - BZK 39325 - Tenshi Kain
Brain Farts
Khrima - ADV 00230 - Alexander Krizak
Yoshi - MAR 69875 - net-cat - 8 WP, 14 JP
Bellyaches
Bruce Wayne (Batman) - DCC 62579 - Coin
Nabeshin - EXL 00001 - JSG
Darth Revan - STW 10094 - Onyx - HK-47 - 11 WP, 23 JP
Sidekicks
Kirby - KRB 25889 - Bugenhagen - Viscerotonic
Toadette - MAR 59602 - Fnord - Paratrooper - Viscerotonic - 11 WP, 11 JP
AquaMan - RKM 52922 - Glinda - Musculotonic
Geese Howard - KOF 21991 - Dry31 - Musculotonic - 8 WP, 6 JP
No items were awarded last round. I'd like to claim that was planned, but unfortunately I just figured I'll have enough of a headache tallying what you've got.
Round ends in 23 hours.
Last edited by Dareon on Fri Jun 11, 2004 1:47 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1192 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:04 am Post subject: |
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First. D:
And - heaven forbid - Five A-votes to Jason Soe. _________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . Credo quia absurdum non credere. . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 328 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:05 am Post subject: |
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NOTE: You still may not heal yourself. |
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Rain The Hunter

Joined: 05 Jan 2004 Posts: 179 Location: Colorado Springs
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:10 am Post subject: |
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Again, the "Drizzt will be present" idea is happening here.
I repeat, Drizzt will NOT be a no-show.
Activating Glass Shield. _________________
14WP-5JP-0A-0R-1Cure |
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1192 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 6:19 am Post subject: |
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- You know, I'll do that too. Casting Glass Shield on myself. _________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . Credo quia absurdum non credere. . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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Seril Eternity Eight

Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 171 Location: Lost Ground
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:00 am Post subject: |
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Asuka watched Ralph dissapear, then noticed a familiar face in the contestants (Well, many familiar :p). Walking to Shizumaru, Asuka waved and gretted him, "Long time no see."
Shizumaru grinned, then replied, "Yeah. I've been...busy."
"Tell me about it."
Both took a seat on the cold floor. They talked long into the day. Asuka learned that giving IS good, so he decided to donate a sixpack of Jolt Cola to a local orphanage. Shizumaru learned that schitzophrenia can be treated with constant psychotherapy, and signed up for a six year plan.
~
Uh, yeah. Shizu and Asuka are talking. We have school, pity us. _________________
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Thirdtwin the original -SHINING JUSTICE-

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 803 Location: in a box of mistery
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:01 am Post subject: |
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Well, don't it figure. Good ol' Ralphy-boy's a demon. Red's suspicions, steadily growing since the trek through Soviet New York, were now at their peak; nevertheless, there were much more significant concerns to deal with at the moment. But where the fuh did he bring us? This place is... nuts. Not that he'd ever know how right he was--as he was literally within someone's diseased mind--but the quality of the place... simply being here, on this tremendous clock telling a time no mortal could read, in the middle of a world that felt distinctly, jarringly wrong... it was all he could do to keep from vomiting. At the same time, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears, feel his lower brain screaming at his body
(FIGHTORFLEEFIGHTORFLEEFIGHTORFLEEFIGHTORFL--)
--feel adrenaline tearing through his arteries at breakneck speed.
There was something wrong.
Not just with the location--the whole place, perhaps the whole universe, was definitely wrong in ways too many to count--but...
There was something wrong.
Old man... Shizu... Nova... Where the hell are they? He certainly couldn't see them in the crowd, oddly enough... why was that? Where could they be? I gotta... I gotta find them I gotta help them I gotta... gotta do something, something--
There was something wrong.
Or perhaps... there would be something wrong.
Yes, that could be it. Maybe this feeling, this deep dread building in the pit of his stomach, was some sort of premonition. Maybe things hadn't gone wrong yet... but they were going to. And if so--
I gotta be there. I gotta do something, I--
"Why hello there, boy."
Red whirled, arms (arms! Nova--) instinctively raised as he assumed a defensive posture. The man he faced laughed, a quick bark that echoed weirdly across the landscape. As the voice wibbled and wobbled like a vibrating saw, once again Red felt like vomiting.
"Hmph. You almost jumped out of your cape there when I spoke. What's the matter, kid? Scared of the boojums?" Geese did that same single harsh laugh. Red's fingers (fingers! Gotta find her gotta--) unconsciously began to curl, balling into fists.
"Look, man, I don't got the time to deal with you. My friends're--" but the blond-haired man was already speaking, the insane sounds again setting off tremors in Red's stomach.
"'You don't got time.' Hmph. That you think you can dismiss me so easily... you got moxie, kid, I'll give you that." The wind seemed to pick up at this moment, fluttering the man's traditional-styled clothing; Red's cape began to float behind him. Red flicked his wrists (wrists! Dammit just getouttamywayIneed--), limbering up as the blond man continued to speak. "But, unfortunately for you, no one brushes off Geese Howard... and lives after the fact, anyway."
The wind spiked.
"JAEI-KEN!"
In what seemed like an instant Geese had crossed the yards between them, slamming his palms into Red's chest, right beneath his guard. One strike, two, three, and Red was blown backward, his breath locked in his throat. His feet wobbled for a moment as his throat tensed and tightened, trying to draw what little air it could into his lungs. Geese only now took up his stance, an infernal grin on his face. "See? Still, it's good that you survived--most people wouldn't even have made it past the first strike. Maybe there's hope for you yet... perhaps you might consider joining my organization when this is all over?"
Red, still gasping reflexively finally got what felt like ten molecules of air into his slowly re-expanding lungs. With that paltry amount of air, he still had enough in him to squeeze out, "Screw you... Dress-man."
Geese's face tightened. "You'll regret that, sonny boy... DOUBLE REPPUUKEN!"
(A pair of hands slicing the air, distortion, energy--I see it!)
He saw it, of course, but he couldn't do much about it--the tremendous blade of ki-charged air slammed into him, flooring him.
"Now. How about I teach you how to respect your elders," Geese muttered, cracking his knuckles idly...
---
Red is now fighting Geese Howard. He could use a little help here too. _________________ TT
Thanks to JSG for the r4wking banner |
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Magus Mr. Thou

Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 445 Location: Mount Zozo
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:40 am Post subject: |
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Casting Glass Shield on myself before anything else. _________________
"I am Cyan, retainer to the King of Doma.
I am your worst nightmare..." |
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AsylumXKP ...Back again

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 642 Location: Still Drunk!
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:54 am Post subject: |
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Episode 6: AsylumXKP's CONKER.
"Now, I've seen a MOUNTAIN of shit, and even been in it, but this a WORLD. OF. SHIT." said Conker, complaining to everyone around him.
"This is most bizarre." said Cyan, inspecting a warped series of pipes. "Nothing here is sane."
Hey guys, check it out! It's like the inside is OUTSIDE!
*WHACK*
OOF!
Quiet knucklehead, you want him to hear us?
With you shouting like that I'm sure he will!
You want some of this too Larry?
*POIT*
OW MY EYE!
WOOP WOOP WOOP!
Come're nimrod!
*DOINK*
Nyuk nyuk nyuk!
Oh a wise guy eh?
*BONK!*
"This place is giving me a headache." said Cyan.
"Sure is." remarked Keitaro. _________________
With less suckage than Revolutions! |
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Rain The Hunter

Joined: 05 Jan 2004 Posts: 179 Location: Colorado Springs
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:03 am Post subject: |
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The dark elf was unfamiliar with this place, and he was glad for it. He had seen enough places gripped by insanity and chaos, but this place superceded every abnormal thing he'd seen. This place was the Nine Hells on psychosomatic mushrooms.
Drizzt looked about him at the other equally confused competitors, and decided perhaps this was not the most opportune time to go exploring. The drow sat, pulled out his scimitars, and began to polish them.
===
Drizzt is open for any sort of interaction. _________________
14WP-5JP-0A-0R-1Cure |
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Moogle Chased by destiny

Joined: 28 Dec 2003 Posts: 138 Location: Maryland, USA
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:12 am Post subject: |
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Before the completely surreal surroundings snuck up on him, Keitaro was busy noticing things other than floating cards, tea tables, entire hallways of distorted mirrors, rooms that look like insane asylums, a gigantic clock and all of the other sights there. Significant things to notice, to be sure, but not the most pressing of concerns for Keitaro at that precise moment.
"My armor's gone!" he whined, looking down at himself. He was, at least, back in his normal clothes, rather than the clothes that Sly procured from wherever, or the ripped clothes from previously. But he was completely missing all of the items that he possessed as a cleric of Tyr, most notably the armor, weapon, and shield. It made sense, of course, he was no longer in the Dungeons and Dragons universe that was somewhat familiar to him, so of course he was no longer garbed like that. But it sure made him feel safer, even if it didn't make him any luckier.
"Oh well," Keitaro sighed. "At least now I can scratch the back of my head again!" He laughed and proceeded to do just that. "Now, where are we?"
"Myuh," Tama-chan said, tipping a floating pot of boiling hot tea to splash at Keitaro's feet.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Fortunately for Keitaro, he got little more than a few drops on him as he hopped away. Then, and only then, did he actually take a look at what was around him.
"Geez! It's like being inside a Picasso painting, or Dali or something! Or one of Su's little experiments, for that matter..." He could not help but shudder at that thought.
"Well, we'd better not sit around and wait for more things to happen to us. Let's go find something to do, Tama-chan." More than anything, Keitaro wasn't about to wait for more boiling teapots to conveniently upend themselves over his head.
"Myuh," Tama-chan agreed, and the two of them headed off in a random direction with absolutely no goal in mind. _________________
Thanks to Switchblade for sig and avatar |
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Onyx Dark Lord of the Sith

Joined: 01 Oct 2002 Posts: 1197 Location: New Jersey
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:34 am Post subject: |
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R-Votes
Lisa
Red |
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Peptuck The Warthog...of DOOM!

Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 572 Location: On Halo and loving it
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:53 am Post subject: |
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Deployment + 120 hours:05 minutes: 43 seconds (SPARTAN 117 Mission Clock)/Unknown location, Unknown universe
Well, now. This was...unusual.
John scanned the starnge environment, not sure what to make of it. it looked strange, like someone's demented nightmare, and the source seemed familiar, though he was not sure exactly where it came from (Alice in Wonderland was not on the busy training itenerary for a Spartan).
"This environment is totally insane," Cortana commented, and John had to agree. "We'd best keep our guard up, you never know what might come at us in tis envronment."
The Master Chief couldn't help but agree. after all, he'd encountered the Flood before....
He reached down to his belt, and saw once more he held the plasma sword, but clipped to his waist was an...odd weapon. It was a blue, claw-like device consisting of two power generators that produced plasma and projected it in front of themselves. the Covenant plasma rifle was an unexpected weapon, and not exactly John's choice for firearms in this environment. He checked the rest of his gear, and was equally dissatisfied to see a smaller version of the plasma rifle replacing his M6D. John had used Covenant ordnance before, but their plasma rifles and pistols were not his first choice in combat. Still, he would have to make due with what he was issued by fate....
John scanned the environment, and leaped up onto one of the numerals on the clock face, using the slight height advantage to search the landscape. Almost immediately, he spotted someone in trouble. Red was fighting some strange man in red and white. The Chief frowned, and shook his head. No, he wouldn't be able to use the rifle, not in this kind of melee - he was just as likely to hit Red as Red's opponent. John slung his rifle and took out the plasma sword. he ignited it, the arcing double wedge flaring into existence, and he dashed across the clock face to where Red fought Geese Howard.
His thoughts flicked to the Covenant weapon. he wasn't an expert with swordplay, though part of his martial arts training had focused on weapons training - John had even been taught some iajutsu techniques to help him focus himself - but he was far from an expert with melee weapons. Hopefully the sheer deadlieness of the plasma sword and its lack of weight would make up for his lack of finesse.
-----------------
The Master Chief, in accordance with the off-kilter round locale, now carries a Covenant Plasma Rifle and a Covenant Plasma Pistol Each of these weapons holds a hundred shots of plasma, though rapid firing overheats them.
The Chief is rushing to help Red fight Geese Howard.
5 A-Votes to Jason Soe Hot damn! _________________
The Cheeese pwns j00.
"I need a copy of halo 2. im 14 and u know i play games all day so i can test it fo u. MeGanaXX"
Dearest MeGanaXX,
14 what? IQ points? Months? If you mean years, then we're doomed. Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation better have kept all those WW2 weapons, because they're going to have a battle on their hands when your Hatest Generation of functionally retarded Dew-guzzling molemen tries to take over the world with a combination of idiocy and poor penmanship.
~Letters to the Bungie Webmaster |
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Onyx Dark Lord of the Sith

Joined: 01 Oct 2002 Posts: 1197 Location: New Jersey
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:56 am Post subject: |
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Activating Bear Crush (-9 WP)
Enhanced A-Vote to Shizumaru
Blue Water to Lisa (-2 WP) |
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Bud Pumpkin King

Joined: 01 Jul 2002 Posts: 1464 Location: luz
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:05 am Post subject: |
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R-vote to Lisa (chained) |
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Magus Mr. Thou

Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 445 Location: Mount Zozo
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:09 am Post subject: |
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1 R-Vote to Lisa (chained) _________________
"I am Cyan, retainer to the King of Doma.
I am your worst nightmare..." |
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1192 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:10 am Post subject: |
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Casting Mist Double.
R-vote to Lisa (chained) _________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . Credo quia absurdum non credere. . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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Lisa Pumpkin Queen

Joined: 03 Jul 2002 Posts: 1848 Location: Fa'Diel
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:35 am Post subject: |
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"You know what time it is, Lisa."
"That time again?"
"That time."
The pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns the twins had acquired from Jakks back in Rune-Midgard sat on the floor in front of them. Memories of the last time they'd pulled off their grand scheme were running through their minds - memories of Seattle, of looking human for a day, Guri becoming a bishounen for the first time, the pumpkin assassin sent to stop them. . .so many memories. And today, they would create new ones.
"You ready, Lisa?" Bud pulled his flute out of his pocket.
"As ready as I'll ever be, Bud." Lisa had hers out too.
"Then let us begin."
Bud and Lisa lifted their flutes to their mouths, and almost immediately, the delicate, eerie strains of a Mysterious Song began drifting through the halls. The invisible notes curled around the pumpkins, bringing them to macabre life. As the song faded away, Bud and Lisa stepped forward, pan and broom, respectively, raised high, and brought both weapons down on each pumpkin in turn. As one might expect, they shattered into countless pieces. And that might have been the end.
But these pumpkins were different. Very different.
"Here we go," Lisa breathed. The twins watched with expectant glee as each piece formed a new pumpkin for the army. They repeated their actions until they'd long since lost count of how many pumpkins populated their army. Now. . .they were ready.
"Bah, this'd be even better if I was a bishounen villain again," Guri muttered.
"Hush, Guri." Lisa grabbed the little goblin and tossed him into the oversized jack-o-lantern that was to serve as their flagpumpkin. "Come on, Bud, let us CONQUER! SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"WILL YOU TWO QUIT THAT ALREADY?!"
"NEVER! SIEG PUMPKIN!
"SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGHH!"
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You didn't really think we'd forgotten we had those, did you? >=D For those unfamiliar with the pumpkin army, or those who've forgotten, these pumpkins are, as described above, rather much like the brooms in the Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence of Fantasia - break one, get many more from the remains.
MWAHAHAHAHAHA! SIEG PUMPKIN! _________________
SIEG PUMPKIN
Thanks for the lovely sig & avatar, Nif! |
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Magus Mr. Thou

Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 445 Location: Mount Zozo
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:48 am Post subject: |
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Cyan Garamonde – 6/1
Wrecked Soul
“It is time.”
This time, the dream was real – and it was not pleasant, as usual. Dreams of shattering glass and moldering corpses, along the barren landscape the world had become – and Cyan stood there in the middle of it all.
“Tee-hee-hee.”
Then, it changed.
He was now in a clock tower, along with all the participants. The tower was no ordinary one – as he looked, he could identify several different creatures (some half organic and half machine), not to mention that he found himself sitting on what seemed to be a giant number. Screams and steam filled the air – from both some participants and creatures.
“This is the perfect place.”
There was no time to survey his surroundings, though. A second later he – or rather, his mind – wasn’t there anymore.
“Indeed.”
The caves of Narshe – when had he ever been there? Ah! Right, right – were torn asunder and the once mining town was in shambles and the city was empty. After the world had collapsed, there were little places where people still lived and, although Cyan had never returned to Narshe, he had heard about its fate from people that came from the North continent. Was it his fault?
Another change. Cyan could almost feel the fragile threads of his sanity slowly snapping as he delved deep inside his mind – and returned to Doma Castle’s throne room. He remembered the last time he was there, while his King – whom he had watched grow – died by Kefka’s poison and there was nothing he could do, asking him to take care of his family. But that day, he remembered, he couldn’t.
Arrived too late. Dead. Both of them… He’d never watch Owain grow and be a swordsman just like him – or become whatever he wanted to be, as long as he was truly happy.
Taken away.
Never again touch Elayne’s lips, or feel her warm body beside him when he slept – he remembered how hard life was in Mount Zozo. The loneliness he felt at night, just before finally sleeping – only to relive the tragedy that changed everything.
Then, he felt a wave of warm air surrounding him and he soon recognized this memory – Neverwinter, the last location. He remembered meeting the two children – where were they? He needed to protect them from harm, like he failed to do with his own son – and the fight against a lizard beast, one of the many that crawled through the dark tunnels of the ancient place. Bud and Lisa, where were they?
He remembered her sweet tune, filled with innocence and joy – and the magic it produced. Cyan also remembered loosing his consciousness shortly afterwards and never saw them again…
New York city.
Ameki… demons… Nova. And Red, by the end. The Muramasa’s cursed blade biting through his skin and piercing deep – not only in his body, but in his soul as well. He clearly remembered hearing Maduin’s bestial voice howling in the darkness before escaping back to the Magicite shard – not his fault; Ameki was a demon-god after all.
He flinched as it started to pour. Medieval Japan – all he knew, for what Ralph had told him. Him and Red atop a house, in the middle of the rain, fighting regardless of what was happening around them. He thought about how calm he was at that moment, teaching the young man how to better focus his power – never before did he felt so complete.
Then, he felt the sea breeze gently washing over him – while he fought the Knight of Vanda and tried to transcend his own limitations to defeat him. Like then, he felt no hatred towards him, only a deep respect and the knowledge that there were people out there that knew more than him – and that some of them were willing to teach him, as well.
Then, it all stopped.
Everything but the screams. From inside his mind and outside – he knew he was somewhere bizarre, but couldn’t quite place it. He just wanted peace of mind, he thought, as he knelt down (or so he thought he was doing).
That, in fact, was the last rational thought to come across his mind, after that, he’d only remember – after it was all done – hearing the sound of shattering glass and his own scream and a horrendous creature – with blue robes and bright, phantasmagoric eyes staring at him and then disappearing.
“Free at last.” Said the phantasmagoric creature as it looked around, having freed itself from the constraints that once kept its power in check – the blue and yellow flames that seemed to consume him made him look like some sort of djinn, and he hovered about a feet above the ground.
“We are free at last!” It said once again, as if it didn’t quite believed that he was, in fact free. “Now, brothers, let us find ourselves more minds to consume.”
And with that, Wrexsoul disappeared among the chaos caused, ready to create more to suit its own ends – leaving behind Cyan’s fallen body to die in this mad realm.
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Yeah. Wrexsoul is out and is looking for more bodies to take over. if you don't remember, Wrexsoul is a very tough boss that you fight inside Cyan's dream to get the Alexander Esper. If my small description didn't help in giving anybody a clue of what it looks like, I drew a picture of him for reference. Also, it is always good to explain Wrexsoul's modus operandi.
He has a vast array of spells at his disposal (which I won't be including here since I never found a spell list for him, and I expect people and myself to be creative with the spells, as well) and his only weakness is Ice magic. Other than that, he's pretty tough and is able to take over another person't body (sponsor, or otherwise) to create confusion and protect himself from direct harm. He also can create illusions to fool other characters into seeing things that are not there and hearing things that were never said. Basically, he'll rely a lot on making the people that fight against him confused to, then, attack with his full power.
Another thing that I'd like to point out is that when Wrexsoul speaks, he'll be referring himself in the third person of the plural - to illustrate that he's not a single creature - instead being three separate ones: Moe, Curley and Larry. And yeah, he's pretty cruel as well.  _________________
"I am Cyan, retainer to the King of Doma.
I am your worst nightmare..." |
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Moogle Chased by destiny

Joined: 28 Dec 2003 Posts: 138 Location: Maryland, USA
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 11:46 am Post subject: |
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Things weren't going too badly for Keitaro. He was running a mental checklist of things that could possibly have gone bad for him and it was mostly empty. That meant there was a wave of mishaps in his future. Of course, there was always a wave of mishaps in his future, because he was Keitaro Urashima, but this time he was sure that there would be more than usual, because they were saving themselves for later, at more inconvenient moments.
In one of his moments of fatalism, he ran through the list in his head and envisioned gruesome ways of each of them happening.
Let's see, he thought, there's...
Getting caught in gears and smashed
Crushed by giant stone cards
Scalded by boiling tea dumped out of pots
Assaulted by flying floor tiles
Taken over by some kind of mad mirror illusion
None of them had happened yet and that was only touching the surface, not even counting the improbable things that could happen that didn't even involve the scenery, like being struck by lightning while indoors or having chunks of the ceiling fall onto his head for no apparent reason.
He walked around the corner and found himself standing face to face with a djinn-looking creature who seemed to be consumed constantly by swirling blue and yellow flames.
Keitaro looked up at the creature without even a flash of fear in his eyes. "Let me guess," he said dejectedly, "you're here to take over my mind and body and use it until I no longer suit your purposes?"
"Wow, he's a quick one!"
"Smarter than the average human!"
"Almost a shame we've gotta take him over..."
The three voices said as one: "NAH!"
"Let's just get it over with," Keitaro said with a sigh, and he stood there bracing for the impact.
Wrexsoul merged into Keitaro's body and reduced Keitaro to the role of spectator in his own mind. Inexplicably, in that prison within himself, he began to laugh uncontrollably. Wrexsoul ignored him.
***
With their nice new inhabited body, Wrexsoul was excited. Sure, it was a little bizarre, having a human put up so little resistance, but it couldn't always be a fight to take over a mind like they'd done with the old knight.
"What a pushover."
"Almost takes all the fun out of it!"
"Let's go wreck his life!"
"YEAH!"
Wrexsoul took a step forward in Keitaro's body and they managed to trip over their own two feet and fall straight into a pool of hot tea. Quickly scrambling out of that, they stood and panted against a nearby wall, which happened to have a couple of the stone card statues on top of it. The two statues promptly fell on Wrexsoul/Keitaro.
Emerging from that, they started to run and checkerboard floor tiles popped up out of the floor and pelted their retreating figure, as they ran all the way towards the clock. Or at least, they planned to run all the way to the clock, except for the trip rope that was raised across the floor that they managed not to see, that sent them flying into another wall that was made up of moving gears that began to squeeze their body.
"OW!" Larry, Curly, and Moe said in unison. "THAT HURTS!"
"This is unreal!"
"This guy has the worst luck in the world!"
"We'll never get anything done like this!"
"Retreat?"
"YEAH!"
Squeezing out of the clock gears, Wrexsoul/Keitaro sat down on the floor, and then in another swirling of blue and yellow flames, the djinn-form emerged from Keitaro's body and took off down the corridor at the fastest speed that they could manage.
Keitaro sat there on the floor and continued to laugh at the retreating Wrexsoul. It wasn't every day that his bad luck helped him defeat a mind-stealing demon. _________________
Thanks to Switchblade for sig and avatar |
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Thirdtwin the original -SHINING JUSTICE-

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 803 Location: in a box of mistery
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 11:58 am Post subject: |
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---
Getting a couple of things out of the way.
Waza Mind Break on Darth Malak
Jutsu Water Hammer on Culex _________________ TT
Thanks to JSG for the r4wking banner |
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Bud Pumpkin King

Joined: 01 Jul 2002 Posts: 1464 Location: luz
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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SIEG PUMPKIN!
Bud sat on top of the giant pumpkin and beat his drum to march the pumpkin army down the long hall of strange mirrors. They finally obtained their pumpkin army, but there wasn't much to do with it; at least not in this place. "We need to find something for the pumpkins to hurt, maim or devour, Lisa," Bud said. "With our army, there's no way we can lose this tournament!"
Lisa sat inside their flagship pumpkin with Guri forming a battle plan. "We could still use more jack-o-lanterns on the front lines," she shouted to Bud. "Try attacking any random baddie you see until the jack-o-lanterns are multiplied."
"Aye-aye, captain!" Bud beat a little faster until the army marched upon an extremely dark patch in the hall. Bud strained to see what was in the darkness. He noticed several small porcelain faces. "This place is creeping me out," Bud said. He pounded the drum slower and sent the jack-o-lanterns in first. The porcelain doll faces moved as soon as the pumpkins entered the patch.
"Giant spiders!" Lisa shouted. "Bud, attack!"
"I'm on it!" Bud pounded even faster with a mysterious rythm. The pumpkins attacked, being multiplied whenever a spider cut one with its legs. After letting the jack-o-lanterns multiply, Bud stopped drumming. "Prepare for the special attack!"
Lisa blew on her flute, a happy song. The tune signaled the jack-o-lantern special. The carved pumpkins' faces began to glow, and simultaneously, they blew fire at the spiders, destroying them all.
A grin grew on the twin's faces. |
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Lisa Pumpkin Queen

Joined: 03 Jul 2002 Posts: 1848 Location: Fa'Diel
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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Their grins faded swiftly, however, as a Boojum dove straight at them, shrieking insanely. Bud and Lisa ducked, and it flew harmlessly over their heads, though the scream caused the Oatmeal to shake from side to side. Looking up cautiously, they were able to duck just in time as it dove again, screaming even louder. This time, the Oatmeal nearly fell over from the force of it.
"Flying enemies. . .this isn't good." Lisa looked Bud directly in the eyes. "We can't handle this on the ground - I'm taking us into the air!"
Lisa played a Serene Song on her flute, causing a control panel to materialize on the inside of the Oatmeal. With the simple pull of a lever, the pumpkin ship rose into the air to meet its foe. Bud grabbed the wheel, and steered it around to face the Boojum.
"Make ready the guns, Lisa, it looks ready to attack!"
"Roger!" Lisa pushed two buttons in swift succession on the controls. The first caused small hatches to open on the outside of the Oatmeal, through which enormous black cannons emerged. The second one caused a tall pole to rise from the top of the ship, and a black flag attached to it unfurled, revealing the drawing of a grinning jack-o-lantern.
No sooner had she done that, than the Boojum let out another cry and barreled straight at them.
"Take evasive action!" Bud shouted.
"Roger!" Lisa jerked the wheel, and the Oatmeal swerved out of the way of the Boojum.
It wasn't deterred, though, and came around for another pass. This time they were ready for it, though - on Lisa's command, Guri fired off a round of torpedoes even as she steered it out of the way again.
"Magic cannon, now!" Lisa played a short tune on her flute to activate the magical cannon, and razor-sharp shards of ice shot forth at the Boojum. They made contact, slicing into the spooky white humanoid without mercy, though no blood was drawn.
"Good shot, Lisa!" Bud pumped his fist in the air as their opponent howled with pain.
"Watch out, Bud, it's coming around again!" Lisa took the Oatmeal into a steep dive to avoid the enraged Boojum, but she wasn't swift enough to evade the scream. The Oatmeal was thrown through the air by the scream for several feet, nearly hitting into several cards as it veered wildly.
"We've been blown off course!" Lisa exclaimed as she regained control. "Look, it's way over there!"
"Isn't there anything we can do about that scream?" Bud asked as Lisa flew cautiously back towards the Boojum, which looked like it was revving up for another go.
"If we can hit it just before it dives at us, maybe we can knock it off-balance - and in any case, the torpedoes are going to hit soon. Try to time your turn so that they happen at the same time."
"Roger!"
The Oatmeal and the Boojum circled around each other for a few minutes, each preparing for its next attack. The Boojum acted first, diving straight at them. Lisa managed to get them out of its way in time, which left the monster wide open for a hit from above. Bud fired one of the normal cannons at exactly the right moment, and a pumpkin-shaped cannonball exploded forth from the barrel. It connected at the same time as the torpedoes Guri had launched earlier. They streamed down from above, leaving trails of smoke in their wake as they slammed into their target. The Boojum screeched with pain, and they could see that while they hadn't defeated it yet, they were close.
"All right, I think it's going to try and knock us off-course again, Bud. . .I'm going to get us into position, and when you see it open its mouth, fire! I'll get us out of the way as soon as you've done that, and hopefully it'll work."
"Roger!"
Lisa wheeled the Oatmeal around and came to a complete stop. They were turned just so in midair, so that their opponent was in direct firing range of the cannons. As anticipated, it dove at them, sensing a chance to strike. Just as it opened its jaws to scream, Bud let loose with the cannon. This time, the cannonball grazed it, even as Lisa turned the Oatmeal downwards to evade the scream. Their attack didn't do much damage, but it did do what they wanted - it knocked their foe off-balance so that the scream merely shook them up a bit, instead of blowing them off-course again.
"YES!"
"WE DID IT!" Bud and Lisa high-fived each other.
"Now to finish it off! Bud, it's left itself wide open again - you know what to do!" Lisa grinned evilly.
"Yep, I do." Bud pulled a lever on the control panel as Lisa turned the ship around to face the Boojum directly. Another hatch opened on the front of the Oatmeal, though it was much bigger than the other ones. A huge cannon emerged from it, and immediately began charging up to attack.
"Oatmeal Cannon. . .FIRE!" Bud shouted. At his command, a gigantic wave of orange energy burst forth from the cannon, and hit the Boojum dead-on. It screamed again, but for the final time, as this was enough to kill it. Its limp corpse floated down through the air, even as it started to disintegrate.
"VICTORY!" More high-fives and grins followed.
They had won. . .for now. But there were sure to be fiercer foes ahead of them.
Last edited by Lisa on Thu Jun 10, 2004 1:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Helmar Brilliant Reflection

Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 57 Location: Cephiro
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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Nova hovered in place in a small outcropping several hundred feet beneath the main platform. She needed time to think, and this was the perfect place to do it; few of the sponsors could fly down here, and she was concealed enough that the Boojums couldn’t spot her.
She frowned as she considered the world they had been deposited in. The basic premise was disturbingly close to Cephiro in the months before Debonair was defeated…though this time the destruction had been caused by the insanity of one mind, rather than the fear from all minds.
She had realized what she had learned in the tunnels was right. It didn’t matter what she had been before. All she could do was look to the future while trying to make it a brighter one.
Still, that didn’t help her doubts about herself…about what she was becoming. She wore armor that looked exactly like Hikaru’s after it had finished evolving. She could use spells that Hikaru never could. Spells that weren’t even related to Hikaru’s element, which was much more than just an oddity.
The magic of Cephiro usually granted only a single element to any person; the few who could use more than that were truly rare…and they spent generations, even centuries, working on their gift. Even Master Mage Clef, greatest mage on Cephiro, had taken uncountable years to learn to tap into his gift. The only way that she was able to use more spells that Nova could think of was –
“You’re right, you know,” a voice whispered softly into her ear.
Train of thought broken, Nova whirled with swords flashing towards the voice…but all she saw was a wide grin.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
The grin sighed. “If I must…” A faint outline of a cat appeared around the smile, slowly filling in. The cat had dirty-grey fur that deepened to black, forming exotic pattern on its face and limbs. “Happy? ”
”What did you mean when you said I’m right?”
“Oh, you know. Even if you don’t. ”
“But I don’t understand w-“
“Then I suggest you stop thinking about it. If you don’t know by now, further contemplation certainly won’t help. ”
“But –“
“I must say, you people have certainly brought some color to this dreary place” the Cat continued, ignoring Nova’s attempt to interrupt. “After all, it’s not every day one sees a tide of orange sweep through the place like that.”
Nova was getting quite red in the face by this point. “What do you mea-“
“Tell me, have you ever seen a soul wreak so much havoc before? ”
“Um, I can’t say that I ha-“
“A pity,” the Cat said with a twinge of sorrow in his voice. “At least you’ll have a chance before this is over and done with. ”
“…”
“Well, I’ll be going, now that you know what you should. ” The Cat said as it suddenly vanished, save for its grin. The grin lingered for a moment, then vanished as well.
“Even if you don’t. ” The Cat whispered half-mockingly into Nova’s ear. Nova caught a faint glimpse of the grin hovering beside her ear as it vanished.
Nova sighed. “Well. That solved absolutely nothing. May as well head back for the platform and see what’s happening…no time like the present.”
“Or is the present like no time? ” The grin had reappeared.
“I’m not going to be able to get rid of you, am I?”
“Not until I’m rid of you,” The grin said smugly.
As she levitated back to the main platform, Nova thought to herself: This is going to be a long round…
*************
Nova is currently heading towards the central platform, Cheshire Cat in tow. _________________

Last edited by Helmar on Thu Jun 10, 2004 1:37 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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Wayne Dark Knight of Vanda

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 436
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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Obligatory flashback post. *snip* (Thanks, Dareon.)
Through the Looking-Glass 6-1 - Memories
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"Before you leave, ah, 'Ralph,'" said Culex, levitating over to the lesser devil, "...did you mention the Iron Tower?"
He shuddered. "Yes, the City of Dis. Why?"
The Vandan's eyes shone a little brighter. "I was wondering how he, Ustyhrin-Ja, and Talos were doing."
"Oh. Um... well, Dispater is Dispater. Nice guy-- for an Archdevil-- but's a real stickler for quotas. Usty has a few new scars, I think... she's taking her 'Iron Maiden'-- I didn't think the pun was all that funny, myself, and Set knows she's no maiden-- bit a little too far." He gave his short, nervous businessman's laugh. "Talos... I don't think I've ever seen it animate. Actually, the last I saw it some of Dispater's Erinyes disciples had left their leather armor hanging on its spikes...."
"What about Dispater and Mephistopholes?"
Ralph grinned, in spite of his situation. "Yeah... yeah, they're still allies. They actually a big party before I left... both of them broke out some captured Tanar'ri Tortured Souls-- 'the drink of the darned, sold only in Heck,'" he added repeating the jingle, "...it was a sight. Two of the most powerful devils in Baator... as drunk as a human on Feywine."
---
Mephistopholes walked down the hall toward the iron throne room. Dispater leaned back on a couch, left arm wrapped around a female devil; he held out a cigar of devilweed with his right and a nearby Pit Fiend saw it, sighed, and lit it with a snap of his fingers. The iron-skinned Archdevil nodded.
"I'm one of the baddest Baatezu of all time. One of the best leaders, and one of the best-lookin' devils you ever seen." He looked over at another woman on his right. "Hold my drink, Erinyes." She sighed and did so; Dispater leaned over and began kissing the Erinyes his arm was around, whispering fell words of Dark Speech in her ear like so many sweet nothings. After a few moments he straightened back. "I'm Dispater, Erinyes." He tapped her cheek. "Enjoy yourself. Heh heh heh!"
Mephistopholes shook his head and kept walking closer, brushing a thick curtain of iron strands out of the way, looking over and admiring the multitude of devils assembled there. Then he glanced back toward center. "Wha...."
"Mephistopholes!" Dispater lurched up from seemingly out of nowhere and punched the red-skinned devil right in the forehead. He leaned back and laughed as the stunned devil put his palm up to his head. "Ha ha! That was cold blooded! Cold as iron! Ha ha!"
He'd had one of his signet rings on, and Mephisto quickly realized that he suddenly had an inch-sized imprint of the Emblem of Dis on his forehead.
"It's the City of Dis!" the Iron Lord laughed, flopping back on his couch, putting each arm around a nearby devil. "It's a celebration, Erinyes! Ha ha!"
Mephistopholes looked on, shocked, he shook his head. Man... my baatezu side says maybe I'm overreacting... maybe I shouldn't do nothing. But... my Stygian side says beat the Nine Hells out of him right here!
"I'm the Lord of the Second!" cackled Dispater. "I'm just gettin' started! Ha ha ha!"
Ustyhrin leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Hey... aren't you going to do something about that? You just hit Mephisto in the face!"
Dispater looked up. "What? Is he gonna hit me back? I'm Dispater!"
Mephistopholes sharpened his claws. He knew what he was going to do... he just needed an opportunity....
~
Mephistopholes had left early to go hang with Bel on Avernus, and the two of them were alone in his sitting room downstairs.
The Pit Fiend looked at his clock. "Shouldn't Dispater be here by now?"
"I don't know, he's at a party in his Tower. And man, was Dis--"
As he was speaking the Iron Lord Teleported in, a faint cloud of sulphur appearing in the air afterward. He looked around the room. "Nice place, devil." he snapped at Bel, looking around. He flopped down on one broad couch... brand new, thick, to support a Pit Fiend's weight; and stretched over with dried mortal flesh. A piece of furniture any devil would be proud to own.
"H-hey," said Bel quickly, looking at Dispater's iron-shod hooves. "That's new!"
Ignoring him, Dis muttered, "Why don't I just stretch out?" and before either could reply shrugged himself to the other side, then kicked his legs over onto the couch, laying on it. "Ahh!"
He looked pointedly at Bel, then back at his couch. Then he grinned, and started grinding his hooves into Bel's couch, shredding delicate layers of human skin on top, all the way to leather a few layers down.
"What're you--" shouted Bel, but Dispater interrupted.
"Ha, you can replace it! Curse your couch, devil! Ha ha! Buy another one, you rich 'Lord of the First!' Ha ha!" he continued to kick into the side of it, and the other two Archdevils looked at each other.
"You know what?" said Mephistopholes, and Bel nodded. "Let's handle this." Both devils stalked over to their destructive friend.
"Wha-- hey! Mephistopholes!" yelled Dis, but Bel clamped his hand over the Iron Lord's mouth, and then both devils began punching and kicking at his knees, wailing away at him.
"Aaah!" screamed Dispater, trying to force them back. "Aah, you, y-you, Baatezu, you evil, unholy, Dark Speech-using lemure devils! Aaaah!" The beatdown began to lose intensity, much to the crippled Archdevil's relief. "Ah... you, lesser Baatezu... Chaotic... traitor devils... eh... ah! You," he muttered as Mephisto stood back up, "Y, you're cold as iron...." But even after all that, he was still undeterred. "Curse your filthy couch, devil! I... I've been kicked out of better Layers than Avernus!" He fell to the ground, and started to drag himself off. "I'll be back! You black-hearted traitor devils! You small-horned weak-skinned Baatezu!" As he got closer to the door, he tried to glare back at the two devils. "I shoulda never gave you devils souls! You don't know how to appreciate 'em! You can get another couch! What am I supposed to do about my legs, Mephistopholes!?"
Bel sighed, and shook his head, looking at a flight of Cornugons nearby. "Wow, man... Dispater really needs help."
Mephisto blinked, red eyes flaring. "What the Hells? Bel, we just gave him some help. We busted his hooves! Bet he'll never come back and disrespect a new Archdevil like that again!"
---
Ralph glanced up at Culex, smiling. "Ahh, those were the days... and of course Dispater was letting everyone know that 'Devilweed's a hell of a drug' after that."
"I can imagine." said the Vandan. "Quite a tale...."
"Oh yeah," said the lesser devil. "I forgot the best part."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Tell me, Culex," he began, getting some red tape handy, "...what did the five fingers say to the face?"
Red eyes blinked. "Hm. Well--"
"SLAP!" crowed Ralph, hauling back and slapping Culex on the side of his face. The Dark Knight's head jerked back, and he winced.
"What was that for-- oh. Ah hah."
"Heh heh."
Culex laughed. "Ha, that's a good one! I'll have to remember that...."
Ralph grinned in turn, curling his fingers back; slapping crystal was not something he'd try again anytime soon, joke or not. "Glad you liked it. Mephisto wasn't too thrilled about it, but... anyway, I really need to get back to the office. Good luck, Culex."
"Travel safely, Ralph." replied the Knight with sudden sobriety, and the grey man nodded.
---
*snip* _________________
"I am matter... I am antimatter.... I can see your past... I can see your future.... I consume time... and I will consume you!"
Last edited by Wayne on Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:58 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Procyon Raccoon Master Thief

Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 238 Location: Socorro, NM
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 2:10 pm Post subject: 6-1 |
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Fleeing from the depths of an erupting volcano was not exactly something I had been hoping I'd have to do again - but when you're in the thieving business, making an escape is what you live for. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite expecting our escape to dead-end at an opening to a sheer cliff a few hundred feet above the forest floor. Let's just say the others didn't really appreciate my sense of direction too well right about then... but, lucky for us, the mist descended on the place just in time, and the others and I were sped across space and time to our next adventure.
Sly Cooper
in
The Jack Of Diamonds
Sly Cooper awoke to find himself stretched out on an immense sheet of glass. A loud ticking sound resonated from underneath him, and the raccoon quickly realized that he was on some sort of gigantic clock - a triad of hands spun in circles above his head, and black blocks in the shape of roman numerals lay stuck to the surface around the outside rim.
The raccoon blinked a few times as he stared into the distance. Giant playing cards danced around through the air, and jets of flame blasted haphazardly from a maze of pipes that hovered above. A bladed pendulum oscillated back and forth from the ceiling, and all around were gigantic springs, turning wheels gears... all of them sitting in the air as if supported by magic.
"Okay..." he said to himself. "No more pizza before bedtime for me." Sly sat back down on the glass and shut his eyes. Hopefully the real location would show up after -
"Sly! Come in! Are you there?" The binocucom audio crackled to life again.
The raccoon groaned. "Yeah, yeah..."
"This is going to have to be really quick - your reception is breaking ... " the audio signal crackled, "completely: your something about your current world is...," he faded out again, "the communication."
Sly shook his head a few times, trying to wake himself up fully. "So what the heck is going on in this place, Bentley? These dials and mirrors are making my head spin!"
"Sly... to tell you the truth I...," (more static) "... no idea. The paranormal scanner is absolutely off the charts, and most of my other devices don't even seem to work any more! Reality seems to have completely lost..." (more static) "... on this place."
"So what can I do? Is there anything around here I might be able to get my hands on?"
"Just try ... ... away from.... ... power ... ... ing ..."
But it was rapidly becoming hopeless, and Sly switched off the audio channel, leaving only the sound of the eerie ticking - with the occasional strange burst of laughter that seemed to emanate from no particular direction. This... was going to be an interesting day. _________________
Description 1: Police Dossier
Description 2: The Thievius Raccoonus Online
Chapter 0: Return to Paris 0-1 0-2
Chapter 3: Battle of the Blackness 3-1 3-2 3-3 3-4 3-5 3-6 3-7
Chapter 4: The Red Menace 4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7
Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-8 5-9 5-10
Chapter 6: The Jack of Diamonds 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Current Location: Dungeon |
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Seril Eternity Eight

Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 171 Location: Lost Ground
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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"...and that's what has happened so far," finished Asuka.
Shizumaru let out a small laugh, "It looks like we've both gone through quite a bit."
Asuka nodded, "Yeah, but-" Asuka was interrupted by a cold that seemed to consume his body, then vanish.
"Asuka? What's the matter?"
"My alter... someone nearby is dead, or close to it. Someone fairly old, a knight."
A worried look appeared on Shizumaru's face, "Cyan... Where is he?"
Asuka pointed northward. "Let's go." Both of them got up from the floor, and ran in that direction.
After running a short while, they came upon the knight's collapsed body. Asuka knelt down and felt for a pulse. "He's still alive. Barely."
"We will soon remedy that."
Asuka looked around, "Who said that?"
A woman figure rose from the mists below.
"Cammy!?"
"Yes... Asuka, I've missed you so much! Now, we can be together again!"
"..."
"I just need you to do one thing, my love" continued Cammy, an evil grin on her face, "Finish the knight off, and kill the samurai."
"This isn't right.," replied Asuka.
"What isn't, honey?"
"You... What is done is done, there is no use running from the past." A bright multicolored light array covered the area, summing the Eternity Eight. Asuka grinned, "Besides, it didn't help that my Eternity Eight can sense life, which you don't have." Asuka extended a hand, and the eight orbs shot towards Cammy, going right through her as if she wasn't there.
Cammy dissapeared, replaced by the image of a blazing phantom. "We wish that you hadn't of done that. It would of been much easier for you to die that way."
Asuka said nothing, and shot his orbs at Wrexsoul. They passed right right him, appearing to do no damage at all. "This isn't good. Shizumaru?" Asuka looked towards Shizumaru, who seemed to be in a trance.
"This really, really isn't good." Asuka recalled his orbs and formed his bow on his left wrist.
Wrexsoul merely laughed. This was a good day indeed.
~
Remember how Asuka could sense death way back in round one? Well, he can still do it. It originated from his feelings amplified from the death of Cammy, and was further amplified from his lunatic spree and talking with the mysterious alter.
Oh, and Wayne - You and the other people already at Heavy Positive and up have been SAVED by that imbalance. If anger were hard to remove, everyone would of spammed it on you guys by now to make sure you can't drano without reprecussions. Which is the reasoning behind it being easily removed, I believe. _________________
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Procyon Raccoon Master Thief

Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 238 Location: Socorro, NM
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:17 pm Post subject: 6-2 |
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Sly peered over the edge of the clock, looking down into the depths below. The chamber appeared to extend downward without end, random objects hovering in the hazy air as far down as the eye could see, as if the pit were truly bottomless. This place was Creepy with a capital 'C'. After the haunted swamps of Mz. Ruby's swampy fortress - with their legions of ghosts and rivers of corpses - Sly thought that he would never see anything quite so unnerving again, but this place had that beat by far.
The question now was, how was he going to get out of this bizarre chamber and find somebody - or something - of interest. Sly stood up and searched for an exit, some way off the great disk of the clock. This didn't take too long - not far away, an open lone doorway hovered in the void - and through its open frame appeared to be some sort of colorful room, even though no walls flanked the doorway and the massive clock chamber clearly continued beyond it. But... it was worth an investigation.
It was more than any single jump could hopefully carry him, but fortunately a pair of intermittently flaming pipes happened to stick up vertically, making (exceedingly) narrow platforms. Sly walked up to the edge of the great clock face and, timing his spire jumps to avoid the periodic eruptions of fire, deftly leapt from one pipe to another, landing on his toes with perfect balance and finally with a great leap, grabbed an overhead horizontal pipe with his cane and swung through into the doorway.
The next room was, unfortunately, not much more comforting. It appeared to be some sort of children's play room - the walls were papered in bright colors on one side and alphabet and animal designs on the other; along the wall stood a line of wooden cribs, and balloons and other friendly shapes hung from the ceiling. On slightly closer inspection, though, there was something seriously twisted about the place - the floor was littered with scissors and knives of all shapes and sizes; the dolls that lined the floor everywhere bore twisted, evil expressions across their faces. The whole room had an unnerving silence to it, an aura that seemed more of a curse over the room than its natural state.
Sly took a few steps forward into the room. A curved fun-house mirror stood along one wall, and Sly looked at his distorted form in it. His head was blown up to massive proportions, while the rest of his body was drawn out in a long arc. Amongst the atmosphere of the room, the effect was hardly entertaining. Sly shook his head and, as quietly as he could to not disturb the room's oppressive silence, he continued onward.
Then, he heard it.
Sly's fur shot up on its end in an instant and his ears rotated to zoom in on the source of a faint stirring noise coming from the center of the room. Wide-eyed, the raccoon turned to watch as one of the evil-looking dolls began to stand up and turn to face directly toward him.
"Hi there," the doll giggled. "Do you want to play..." Menacingly holding a pair of scissors in its hand, gripping the inner ring of both holes to hold the tool out like a massively oversized dagger, the doll smiled viciously.
Then there was another rustle, and a second doll stood up, grabbing a butcher knife (that was at least its own size) off the ground and took a step forward in the raccoon's direction.
"Let's play..." its head wavered back and forth menacingly.
Behind him, a third doll stood up and picked up a razor blade.
"We haven't played in a long time..."
"A vewy vewy long time..."
"Can we play with you?"
The dolls closed in menacingly.
---
Sly tossed the rubber ball into the air and quickly snatched the ten metal jacks off the ground with a sweeping motion, spinning his hand back just in time to catch the ball as it fell back to the ground.
"Looks like I win again! Pay up, kiddies!"
Snarling, Evil Doll #2 pulled a wad of bills out of her pocket.
"I don't like you," she pouted as she stuffed them into Sly's hand.
The raccoon quickly navigated the bills into his pocket. "Hey, if you can't handle the pressure, then let the others have a shot. Any takers?" Sly looked at Evil Doll #1 and Evil Doll #3.
Evil Doll #3 stood up and shoved Evil Doll #2 to the ground. "Me me me me me!"
"Alright," Sly continued. "Let's go. This is for the whole pot - all your stuff for all my stuff. You first." He dumped the pile of jacks back onto the floor.
Evil Doll #3 tossed the ball into the air and snagged a jack of the ground before catching the ball again. And did so again, and again, and again, until all had been removed. She cast the lot back on the floor again an continued the cycle anew with 2 jacks, and 3, and 4, and 5 and 6. Finally, when it came time to pick up seven by the time the ball fell, despite a confident, speedy grab, she found four left on the table.
"My turn." Sly grinned, and gestured for the ball.
".. wait a second," Evil Doll #3 grimaced and reached behind her to find... only six jacks. "Hmph!" She scattered them with a strong through. "I knew I got seven of them."
But it was Sly's turn now, and he began a streak of his own - getting as far as eight jacks at once before finally making an error and handing the ball back to his opponent.
Tossing the ball into the air, she again tried to grab the seven jacks before the ball returned to earth - but despite what appeared to be seven distinct motions, somehow four left behind.
Sly coughed slightly, looking in the other direction as the doll glared at him.
"I couldn't get past six either..." said a frowning Evil Doll #2.
"Well, my turn again!" Sly snatched the ball from the doll's open palm and easily finished the game for the victory.
"Well, tough luck there. Time to pay up!"
Her eyes narrowed, the doll pulled out her wallet and pulled out a stack of greenbacks, shoving them with a snort into Sly's hand.
"... wait a second." She pushed her hand into his a little further, pressing at what felt like a spindly metal object in his hand beneath the bills. Slowly letting go, she looked down at the surface below here, where all ten jacks in the set lay scattered.
"You cheated!" she howled.
"Well, I prefer to refer to it as 'strategic external modi-"
"DIE!!!!!!" Eyes suddenly burning red, the doll picked up the meat cleaver and began chasing after the thief as he dashed into the distance, leaving a trail of stray bills fluttering behind him. _________________
Description 1: Police Dossier
Description 2: The Thievius Raccoonus Online
Chapter 0: Return to Paris 0-1 0-2
Chapter 3: Battle of the Blackness 3-1 3-2 3-3 3-4 3-5 3-6 3-7
Chapter 4: The Red Menace 4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7
Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-8 5-9 5-10
Chapter 6: The Jack of Diamonds 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Current Location: Dungeon |
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Lisa Pumpkin Queen

Joined: 03 Jul 2002 Posts: 1848 Location: Fa'Diel
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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"You know, this is actually more fun than being on the ground."
Bud and Lisa were still flying around in the Oatmeal, and Lisa had even brought the rest of their army up to join them, forming the -Pumpkin Armada-. They'd cruised around for a while now after their victory against the Boojum. A few more had flown by, but scurried away, having witnessed what had happened to one of their brethren, and not overly eager to be next. This greatly amused the twins. Guri, meanwhile, was snoring away inside the ship.
"Yeah." Lisa smiled vaguely to herself as she saw another Boojum fly swiftly away. "It's kinda quiet, though. Too -"
"- quiet," Bud finished in unison with her. "Yup, it's pretty strange."
"Strange it is, and yet not so strange," said a singsong voice. Bud and Lisa nearly jumped right out of the Oatmeal at being startled, and looked around frantically for the source of the voice. The only thing they could see, however, was a grinning mouth. . .and nothing else.
"Who are you?" Lisa called out to it.
"Who am I?" A pair of mad eyes appeared above the mouth. "Who are you?"
"We're Bud and Lisa!"
"Such pretty pumpkins." The face - if you could call it that - flipped over in the air. Two ears materialized below the eyes, one bearing a gold earring. "Are they a trick. . .or a treat?"
"They're our Armada, and you'd be smart to fear them!" Bud pointed his frying pan at the odd creature.
"Are you afraid?" The face flipped over again, and this time the rest of the body slowly came into view - a thin, mangy cat with tribal tattoos all over his ravaged body.
"What have we to be afraid of?" Lisa asked defiantly.
"Fear is in the mind," the cat said, still grinning. He rolled over on his back again and swatted at something imaginary - or perhaps visible only to him - with one of his paws.
"I could have told you that," Bud snorted.
"But there are many other things in this mind besides fear, you know." The cat's grin was beginning to be a tad bit unsettling. "This mind is not all here. Some of it is there." He turned himself over again and rested his chin on one of his paws. "But most of all, it is everywhere."
"Are you talking about your own mind or someone else's?" Bud asked, frowning.
"Who says I have a mind?"
". . ." Lisa slapped her forehead in exasperation. "Oi! Will you just tell us what's going on here, or at least who you are? Stop speaking in riddles!"
"Lisa, you're assuming he even knows what's going on here."
"I know what I know." The cat's body vanished again, leaving only the head. "But is what I know what you want to know?" The body reappeared, on top of the head, where it began dancing. "What do you think I know?"
"Who are you? And what's going on here? That's what we want to know!" Lisa was getting more than a little irritated, and slightly creeped out by this bizarre feline.
"Me? I may be what you see. But is what you see the real me? Oh my, oh me." The body disappeared again, and reappeared just as the head vanished.
". . ."
"Have you ever considered that you may be just a figment of someone else's mind?" The grin materialized again as everything else became invisible once more. "Someone may be thinking of you at this very moment."
". . . Forget this," Lisa said, disgusted. "We're not going to get anything sane out of this guy."
"Perhaps, perhaps not." The rest of the Cheshire Cat came into view once more. "Sanity is so rare a thing in these parts, pity. . .but do keep what I said in mind, children." Giggling, the cat vanished entirely.
". . .What a weirdo." Bud plopped down in a chair, a sour look on his face. "What a waste of time. . ."
"Forget about him, Bud! Look!" Lisa pointed at a nearby card, where a Clockwork Knight looked ready to pounce. "Enemy at eleven o' clock!"
"Roger. What do we do till then?"
"OI!" Lisa smacked Bud on the back of his head. "Battlestations! Get ready to attack!"
"All right, all right!"
With a loud clank, the Clockwork Knight sprang into action, blasting some excess steam in the direction of the Oatmeal. Lisa turned the ship sharply to avoid it, but was unable to avoid the rocket-propelled punch that came the next second, just before it jumped over them and onto the card where the Cheshire Cat had been. Bits of the Oatmeal were broken off, but quickly formed new members of the Armada.
"That thing moves fast - we can't rely too much on the cannons, Bud. We'll have to use torpedoes."
"I'm on it!" Bud launched some torpedoes with the Clockwork Knight's name on them. "What about the damage to the ship, though?"
"I'll handle it." Lisa pulled out her Undine flute again. "Go, Magic Cannon!" She played a Sorrowful Song on it, activating a Cure Water spell that repaired the damage on the Oatmeal's hull.
"Lisa, it's going to attack again!"
"Already prepared!" Lisa jerked the wheel, veering the ship upward as the Knight blew more steam at them. She then took it in a steep dive underneath the cards, evading another punch, and then soared back up to be on an even altitude with their opponent. "Now, Bud!"
"Roger!" Bud yanked the lever from earlier on the control panel, and the large cannon slid out of the front of the ship, beginning its charge immediately. "Oatmeal Cannon. . .FIRE!"
The same bright orange energy exploded forth, engulfing the Clockwork Knight even as the torpedoes made contact, blasting the demented toy's appendages off. The arms plummeted through the mist below, soon followed by the rest of the body, still giving off steam and, now, black smoke.
"ALL RIGHT!" Bud and Lisa jumped up and down, cheering. "We did it! Again!"
"We RULE!" Bud grinned.
"SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"Wil you two SHUT UP?!" Guri snarled. "You woke me up and I was having a nice nap!"
"Oh, hush, Guri, we just defeated another big monster!"
"Like I care!" Guri rolled his eyes. "I'm going back to sleep! Keep it down!"
"Yeah, whatever." Lisa rolled her eyes too.
"Oh, don't let him spoil it, Lisa! It's our victory and we deserve to enjoy it! SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"You're right! SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"SIEG PUMPKIN!"
"I'll never get any peace and quiet around you two," Guri muttered. The twins just grinned. |
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Magus Mr. Thou

Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 445 Location: Mount Zozo
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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Cyan Garamonde – 6/2
The Eternity Eight
The creature laughed as the Alter used turned the jade colored spheres into a bow and pointed it menacingly at him. Wrexsoul’s empty eyes stared at Asuka, then at the two behind him – a young, spiky haired samurai and his former host. The young red-headed samurai seemed to be in a trance-like state, and didn’t pose much of a threat against him, and his former host didn’t seem fit to fight – Cyan lay unconscious beside the samurai, and Wrexsoul could feel his vital signs slowly fading away; death was almost certain to the royal retainer.
Wrexsoul, however, wasn’t as worried about the azure knight’s fate as much as he was interested in the two young men in front of him – one of them, he already knew, although using a different body, and the other had incredible power inside. Too tasty for him to let it slip.
“We are very pleased to meet such… interesting people.” It said, glaring at Asuka with his empty eyes. “Perhaps we could feed off your memories… Asuka, isn’t it?”
The monster said, and Asuka’s eyes widened with surprise and Wrexsoul laughed at his surprise, casting a Fire3 spell and sending several spheres of fire that sped towards the two warriors at incredible speed. Asuka quickly molded his spheres, forming a shield that protected himself and Shizumaru from the fire rain upon them, albeit not fully. The creature took advantage of his momentary distraction and sped towards Asuka, his fists clenched tightly together as it connected with the Alter user’s chin, sending him flying backwards and into a wall.
“Let us take care of this first. The others seem to pose no threat.”
“I agree. The samurai seem rather… tasty.”
“Better than the last one. I’ve never thought someone could think about panties that much.”
“Indeed. Why not leave the main course for the end? We still have plenty of time to consume them.”
The demon flew forth once again, after casting a Ice3 spell and enclosing Asuka in what seemed to be an ice coffin, which exploded shortly after, causing enormous damage and confusion in his mind. He laughed as he got closer and, despite the energy arrows that the Alter user used against him, hit him upside the head with one of his fists, soon followed by his other fist. Asuka stumbled back a few steps, transforming the bow into a sword – nothing more than his spheres of energy aligned, forming a very sharp blade of energy - and lunged forward to meet the creature.
Wrexsoul’s hollow shriek echoed through the twisted room as the blade ripped through his blue robes – this was no reflect, however, as Wrexsoul was virtually empty below his clothes, but could still feel pain if his body sustained too much damage. Asuka thrust his blade once again against the ethereal djinn as he noticed he had gained a little bit of ground in the struggle, opening another gash in Wrexsoul’s body. He spun around once again, swinging his energy blade horizontally, but his attack was parried by Wrexsoul’s hand – not his bare hand, but he seemed to be able to control magnetic fields with some ease.
The djinn counter attacked with a Bolt3 spell, almost knocking the Alter user down with the electricity that suddenly ran by through his body.
“You belong to us now, Asuka!” The creature said as it approached the young man – the flames that seemed to consume almost half of his body licking the check board black and white floor – and disappeared. Asuka collapsed in the ground as he did, getting up slowly afterwards, with a strange look in his face.
“This one surely is interesting…”
“Let’s use him to finish the others off.”
“No. The samurai is too important to be killed just like that. Let’s just wear him down.”
-----------------------
Yeah. Wrexsoul has taken over Asuka's body and is about to attack Shizumaru! Stay tuned for the next story post, which should come out soon enough! _________________
"I am Cyan, retainer to the King of Doma.
I am your worst nightmare..." |
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Dry Seeker of Power
Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 114 Location: Seeking Power
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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Geese watched, smirking, as Red pulled himself to his feet. He raised one hand and beckoned.
"Come ON."
Red, still not fully recovered, did his best to oblige anyway. He stepped forward and launched a left hook at Geese's head...but the punch was slow and Geese was at the top of his game. The Overlord leaned back, letting the punch sail by. Red wasn't finished yet, though; he chained the blow into a right jab, and followed that up with a low kick. Geese dealt with these two blows just as easily as he dealt with the first, slapping the jab aside and sidestepping out of the way of the kick.
But Red hadn't really been trying to hit with his attacks; they were mostly just to buy time so he could get his wits back. And now, he was ready to launch an attack for real.
"Crush Beat!"
Red launched a left jab, this one much faster than any of the previous blows. Geese, taken by surprise, nonetheless managed to sidestep the blow. But Red was already launching a fearsome right hook. Geese's sidestep carried him directly into the path of the blow. There was an explosion of force as Red's fist met Geese's jaw...a moment later, Geese was thrown back a few feet and hit the ground. Red panted and shook his head.
"Crazy dress ma - aw shit."
Geese was already getting back to his feet, smirking evilly.
"Heh heh...not bad. But you cannot escape wrong deth."
"'Wrong deth'? What have you been smoking?"
Geese sneered and rushed forward, trying to slam his elbow into Red's stomach. Red managed to block Geese's blow, though the strength behind it was enough to force him to take a step back. But Red came out swinging, stepping forward and launching a blow of his own. Geese blocked the blow, and Red started another strike -
And at that moment, what appeared to be a heavily armored man wielding a lightsaber came dashing in fast. Geese caught the movement from the corner of his eye; with his left hand, he knocked Red's blow aside and countered it with a swift palm strike to Red's chest. Red wasn't able to block in time, and went staggering back; Geese pivoted 90 degrees, now facing the man with the lightsaber, who was nearly on top of him.
Then the man was in range and swinging, his blade cutting a deadly golden arc through the air...but Geese was already airbourne, leaping over the blade's path. It took the man only a split second to kill the momentum of his first, missed strike and start to launch another one. In that split second, Geese acted.
"SHIPPUKEN!"
Still in the air, Geese thrust his hands forward, unleashing a burst of raw blue power directly into the man's face. He took a step back, and launched a second swing a moment later...but the force of the Shippuken had pushed Geese back out of range. Geese landed smoothly on his feet a short distance away and scowled icily at the newcomer. Red blinked...and for a moment, the fight ground to a standstill.
"Bringing a knife to a fist fight? How sporting of you."
Geese's face twisted into an icy grin.
"I could use someone like you in my organization...you'd make a good enforcer. What do you say?"
"I am Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-117. As to your offer, no. I have more important objectives than being a thug for the likes of you."
Geese's grin became even more sinister.
"Just as well. Killing you will bring me a great deal of pleasure. Heh heh...attacking Geese Howard was the worst move you ever made." _________________ Luna
THE PLACE
http://pub88.ezboard.com/bluna83999 |
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Onyx Dark Lord of the Sith

Joined: 01 Oct 2002 Posts: 1197 Location: New Jersey
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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Using Jutsu ability Water Hammer on Red (-10 JP)
Activating Jutsu ability Implosion (-6 JP)
A-Vote to Sly.
Using Jutsu ability Starlight Heal on Lisa and Nova. (-7 JP)
And that's all folks. Good luck to whoever makes it to the finals. |
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San Draco Elven High Wizard

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 908 Location: Faerun
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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Malak slowly let Akira down on her feet, and he looked into her eyes. Surprisingly, the two had landed on what appeared to be a giant chessboard, complete with clockwork knights. Malak laughed, softly.
"How... convenient. Metaphors seem to abound within this place. As well as being tainted with the Dark side... a pity this is nothing more than a dream world."
Akira looked somewhat dazed. "A... dream world?"
Malak nodded. "We are inside the mind of another being... one without hope or dreams, apparently. Her nature has changed this place into what you see, although..."
There was a long pause, as Malak knelt down on one of the black squares. He focused... and the square changed colors, this time to a deep red. He stood back up, and gazed at his newfound apprentice. "Partially morphic, although one has to confront the will that guides this place in order to change the least thing." He gestured at the square. "Normally, that should have changed the entire board. However..."
Akira shook her head. "Enough. Why did you bring me here? What do you want from me?"
The Sith lord offered only a single chuckle. "I did not 'bring' you here, any more than I 'want' anything from you. You called out to me in our battle, and I have acted upon that wish." He tapped the side of his face. "I see your destiny, Akira Kazama. I have seen some of the battles you fought in Gedo High, and your singular... ability, impresses me. I believe that you are sensitive to the Force, though not, perhaps, enough to become a Jedi."
Her head spun. "I... asked you? You saw me at Gedo High? What's going on here?"
Malak raised his right hand, and gazed at it. "There is a power, apparently unknown in your world, known as the 'Force.' Simply put, it allows you to reshape the fabric of reality, impose your will upon the universe itself. It is the source of my powers. It is also," he continued with a smile, "The source of your own."
Akira was about to object, but Malak cut her off, somewhat sharply. "I know. I know that fighting comes naturally to you, even more so than to your brother. I also know that..."
The woman shook her head. "The point, please?"
For a moment, Malak stared at her. Then, slowly... "You have power, but you are unable to focus it. You want to protect those around you, but you don't have the drive to end the threats to them once and for all. For all of your strength and speed... you are weak. I can change that."
Akira looked askance. "And I... asked you for this? The ability to change?"
Once again, Malak tapped his forehead. "Through the Force, I can read minds. I read yours during the battle, and I saw the fierce joy you took in the battle... and the despair you felt when you lost. Your loss enabled me to go on to defeat Revan. Because of your weakness, two lives were lost."
There was a slight look of horror. "You're lying. You have to be... Revan was..." At Malak's completely blank expression, she slumped her shoulders. "I see. But... how could you defeat them? Revan was stronger than me, and he also used this 'Force,' like you. Yet..."
Malak nodded. "Yes, we both used the Force. However, he drew his power from the so-called 'Light Side.' It, like your power, stems from the desire to protect others, using peace and tranquility to defeat those who would cause harm." Malak's voice, even through his mechanical filter, seemed to grow more bitter. "Whereas I used the 'Dark Side.' Passion, anger, the desire for victory and glory... the root of power and prestige. The battle was a foregone conclusion."
Akira seemed confused at this. "But... Shizumaru defeated you, and he..."
"Used the Dark side as well." Malak's eyes narrowed at the memory of his defeat. "Could you not feel the power, the burning passion within him as we fought? Even his weapon was forged by the Dark side's power, and even my power wasn't enough to defeat it." He took a step towards Akira, and put his hand on her shoulder. "Shizumaru defeated me because he gave in to the dark power within him. You failed because you did not. There is no other need for explanation."
Suddenly: a large, massively-formed shadow-creature appeared. As it roared, Malak seemed to gain an idea. "Your normal abilities will not be sufficient to defeat a creature like this. This..." His eyes closed, as he searched the alien mind for a name, a label. "this Phantasmagoria. However, if you delve into the power of the Dark side, then even this creature should be no great challenge. However, if you fail..." His voice smiled where his face could not, "Then it will drain your mind dry. All of your precious memories of your friends and your brother... will vanish, like a shadow."
So saying, the Sith ignited his lightsabre, but seemed to do nothing more than watch and wait... |
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Procyon Raccoon Master Thief

Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 238 Location: Socorro, NM
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:57 pm Post subject: 6-3 |
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A mob of psycho dolls on his heels, Sly Cooper ran towards the far side of the room and opened the playroom door as fast he could, leaping through and slamming it behind him with a loud shudder.
"Whew..." Sly sighed as he wiped his brow. Man, kids these days just didn't know how to take... a...
Sly looked down. Far beneath him was some sort of garden, surrounded by castle spires and buildings. Far, far beneath him... separated by nothing but empty air.
With a muffled scream, the thief began to fall from door-in-the-sky, faster and faster and faster and -
-CRASH-
---
Slowly and painfully, Sly Cooper struggled to his feet. A bright sun in a clear sky shone down on him. It appeared to be some sort of hedge garden.... no, it was a hedge maze. Passages branched out in every direction, lined on either side by neat, squarely cut hedges and below by a soft carpet of low-cut grass.
"Alright, so.... a maze," Sly said to himself. No problem - with his super-thieving skills, there'd be no problem navigating his way out of there!
Confidently, Sly chose a random direction and marched off. Right turn! Left turn! ... Dead end.
"Hmph..." OK, not that way. Sly reversed course to return to the last intersection, and instead made a right turn. The passage snaked back and forth a few times, and quickly deposited him at the very intersection he's started at.
The thief sighed to himself. OK, process of elimination: This way!
Sly began walking in yet another direction, a long straight passage with dozens of perpendicular paths branching off from either side. May as well follow this one all the way to the end...
After about only thirty seconds of walking, though, the silence of the sunny yard was suddenly disturbed by a loud, creaking sound off in the distance. Sly stopped in his tracks and quickly scurried into a side passage, sticking his head around the corner just enough to see what happened.
From far down the passage, a large mechanical contraption emerged and began moving in his direction. Jets of steam erupted from its back, and, gears spinning, the lumbering creation began hopping steadily in Sly's direction. Sly retrieved his binocucom and zoomed in on the creature for a closer look. As usual, the text information window appeared in front of the target:
Clockwork Knight
Mechanicus medievalus
Doesn't mind the daily grind.
Carefully, Sly withdrew back into the side passage and retrieved his binocucom. ... Clockwerk?! He and his creations were here? Impossible!
Sly took another look, even as the machine got closer and closer to his position. Yet it was disturbingly possible - Clockwerk was a mechanical mastermind, and perhaps his ability to come back time and time again had something to do with his presence in this freaky corner of the universe.
Well, if he could bash apart one Clockwerk machine, he could do the same to another. Sly tightly gripped his cane in his hand and, pressing himself against the hedge, waited for the bizarre war machine to enter his range.
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If anybody wants to interact, feel free to join in this battle. _________________
Description 1: Police Dossier
Description 2: The Thievius Raccoonus Online
Chapter 0: Return to Paris 0-1 0-2
Chapter 3: Battle of the Blackness 3-1 3-2 3-3 3-4 3-5 3-6 3-7
Chapter 4: The Red Menace 4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7
Chapter 5: Trouble in Paradise 5-1 5-2 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-6 5-7 5-8 5-9 5-10
Chapter 6: The Jack of Diamonds 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-7
Current Location: Dungeon |
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Peptuck The Warthog...of DOOM!

Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 572 Location: On Halo and loving it
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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Dry, I never have played KoF, so if somehow I screwup Geese, let me know. I'll keep this mostly limted to fists and feet, as I don't know much about Geese's moves...heck, I don't really know much about Red, either.
D + 120 hours:15 minutes: 51 seconds (SPARTAN 117 Mission Clock)/ Unknown location, Unknown universe
The Master Chief looked carefulyl at the fighter, and nodded slightly to himself. The man was unarmed, but decidedly dangerous. He would not underestimate the man. He quickly glance to Red, to see his comrade seeming to space out. Something must have happened to him last round, but what, John didn't know.
"Now this is unusual," Cortana told John. "He appears to be manipulating some type of inner energy and using it as a weapon. Not exactly like the Covenant's plasma, but very similar. Its not as lethal, but definately will drain your shields." The Chief realized that as well. The "shippuken" attack he had used had dropped John's shields by a quarter.
Once again,John glanced to Red, and then recalled the man's skill with the blade. Doubtless he would be able to put the sword to better use than the Chief could, and John himself was better fighting barehanded than he was with fighting with a blade.
"Red," Master Chief called, and he deactivated the plasma sword. Red looked his way, and John tossed the deactivated blade to the young warrior. Red glanced down at it, and nodded his appreciation before activating the Covenant plasma sword. the katal-like double wedge of glowing energy flashed into existance, and Red slid into a fighting stance. First the Murasame, now this alien weapon...Red's comrades kept gifting him with all kinds of weaponry.
John turned back to Geese, then slid easily into a combat stance, left foot forward, weigth distributed between his legs. He didn't bother drawing either Covenant firearm; he doubted he could level and fire them before Geese got to him first. The dress wearing fighter smiled and mimicked the stance, and then he leaped forward at John.
Geese came across in a powerful kick aimed for the Chief's face. John saw it coming and snapped his arm up to knock aside the kick long before it got anywhere enar his body. Not surprised, Geese shifted his weigth and shot his opposite leg into a low kick aimed at John's torso. the Cheif didn't move to block, and Geese was suprised when his foot seemed to slide off John's chest. The kick caused his shields to flare, and the Master Chief stumbled back in suprise at the power behind the hit. Geese took the opening to launch a rapid combo of jabs at John's faceplate.
John's arms moved in a blur. Geese didn't know about the Spartan program, or MJOLNIR. The Chief's every thought was translated into blurringly fast motion, his arms snapping around in a green and black blur of cybernetics, powered armor, and military discipline. Every punch was stopped long before it got near John's body, his lightning-fast reflexes even quicker than those of the best fighters Geese had ever fought.
John stepped forward, comign in with a jab of his own. Geese caught it, grunting under the force behind the punch, but leaped up off the ground, ytucking bith legs in underneath him and lashing out with a powerful double kick into the Chief's chest. John was rocked back, almost falling off his feet, and was taken off-guard as a blast of blue enrgey smashed into him once again. His shields flared, rippling like water struck by a pebble, and he had to fall back several steps. A glance at his shield indicator showed it was down by half, but refilling.
Geese and John looked at each other with sightly more respect. The Overlord hadn't been expecting the soldier to be so fast, with his enhancements and armor, nor had he expected such advanced technology. But John had underestimated the fighter, as the man was an unaugmented human with no armor. This foe was far more dangerous than any single enemy he had faced yet, even moreso than commando Elites and the Flood. Even if he was an ordinary human, Geese Howard was a force to be reckoned with.
The moment of shared respect was not wasted by Red, who had watched the brief exchange without immediately stepping in. he hadn't wanted to endanger his ally, and to tell the truth, Red needed the breather.
Even as Geese and the Master Chief realized they had underestimate each other, Red entered the fray, his new weapon flashing in a Swallow Swing. Geese deflected the energy discs, and a split second later had to duck away beneath a powerful kick from the Master Chief. The battle between the Overlord, the hero, and the soldier began.
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Red now has the Chief's plasma sword. Use it well. _________________
The Cheeese pwns j00.
"I need a copy of halo 2. im 14 and u know i play games all day so i can test it fo u. MeGanaXX"
Dearest MeGanaXX,
14 what? IQ points? Months? If you mean years, then we're doomed. Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation better have kept all those WW2 weapons, because they're going to have a battle on their hands when your Hatest Generation of functionally retarded Dew-guzzling molemen tries to take over the world with a combination of idiocy and poor penmanship.
~Letters to the Bungie Webmaster
Last edited by Peptuck on Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Wayne Dark Knight of Vanda

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 436
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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Through the Looking-Glass 6-2 - Declaration
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After Ralph had left, Culex spent several hours in deep meditation. That the place was oddly quiet for its heavily mechanistic backgrounds... and the fact that all around him with a smothering, pervasive sense of the past and future of one person, a child, one 'Alice,' who had a dark future indeed... it was enough for the Vandan to soon realize that this dimension was within the consciousness of that mortal girl.
"Yeah, pretty $#@&'ed up, isn't it?" muttered Conker from nearby, as though reading his mind. "It's like Alice in Wonderland if Alice had a clock fetish and was on a really big @$%#ing trip."
"In... indeed." replied Culex, and from his position, sitting cross-legged but floating off the ground, he simply lowered his feet to the floor, and then looked down at Conker.
"Yeah? What? ...hey, don't stare at me like that, you--"
The Dark Knight nodded, interrupting him. "Across the platforms, turn right at the forest. It should be next to the castle. I'm sure the Caterpillar will share."
"What the hell are you-- oh. Oh. That Caterpillar." Conker grinned. "Thanks, pal."
Culex simply stared. "You're welcome."
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He had difficulty divining anything in this place... it had taken several seconds of fixing his gaze on the squirrel to learn anything, and then had been in a relaxed setting... it would be much more difficult to analyze anyone in a battle. And yet, he soon realized, as his sensed "pinged" a sudden ominous source in one of the remote layers of that twisted realm, that he was due for one.
The futures for several different 'competitors' were suddenly muddled... some perhaps fatally. It was difficult to follow the source of that aura with his senses alone, and the way was slow going; though at least Culex himself was unimpeded by the various clockwork horrors and phantoms throughout.
There... he suddenly stopped, and looked down; by levitating over the platforms he had gained some altitude on those restricted to running on the ground, and it had garnered him a good vantage point. Looking down through the mists he saw Cyan... the old knight he'd challenged before... unconscious on the ground... around him were at least Asuka, and some youth he didn't recognize, nor could he sense who it was right way.
No matter. The Dark Knight slowly lowered to the ground, staring firmly at the apparition, currently battling Asuka... after a few moments he found Wrexsoul, the presence he'd sensed in Cyan's future. It had seemed so distant, afar off, then, however....
His diamond feet touched the ground, and with a sudden gust of wind four elemental crystals warped into being, circling around Culex. The Dark Knight crossed his arms and addressed Asuka... the last known presence of the spirit he was fighting. He looked around at Shizumaru, the fallen Cyan, and anyone who might have been hiding, of course.
"I am Culex, Dark Knight of Vanda. I have taken part in this tournament to fight this world's strongest Knights. I challenge... all of you." His burning eyes were focused most on the apparently-possessed Alter-user. "Do you accept my challenge? Will you enter into combat against me?"
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I'd use some abilities, but there's too many targets... brain overloading... well, maybe later. :/ This requires some thought. |
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CarlyCheeese Scarlet Rain Silence

Joined: 02 Jul 2002 Posts: 1192 Location: Koka-In Temple
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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Hisame Shizumaru - 6:1
"Shizu..."
A daze had come over Shizumaru in the aftermath of the battle against Darth Malak (it had almost seemed too easy), and while seeing that the locales now were about the strangest thing he'd seen in his life, there wasn't anything stranger to notice than that Rimururu had, somehow, appeared at his side, and had thrown her arms around him, pressing her body against his. "You left us - you left us all... I was so worried! Gohan-san said you'd just disappeared... we thought Yuga had taken you, but oh, I found you," Rimururu leant her head against Shizumaru's shoulder, letting her tears fall onto the skin of his back (his jacket had fallen off of his shoulder again). "I found you..."
"My heart didn't leave," Shizumaru reached out to touch her - she felt so warm, he was almost sure it wasn't an illusion. "How did you get here, Rimu-chan? Ralph-san surely wouldn't have gone back to Japan for you..."
"All it took was my heart and my dreams," Rimururu met his eyes, shimmering with tears. "They can take me anywhere I want, if I can imagine it. Someone gave you hope, two years ago - and you give me mine. So here I am, with the hope you've given me... and I'll never let you out of my sight again." She nuzzled his back slowly - Shizumaru was about to tell her to stop it, since it would irritate the scars, but then he remembered... Nova's Healing Wind had restored that skin. There wasn't anything there to hurt... and if it was really Rimururu there, looking as if she could spring out of her clothes and jump on him at any second, then she would've had to have noticed it by now. "Shizu... I missed you..."
"You've become rather fond of my shoulder, Rimu-chan," Shizumaru smiled, disguising his true intentions. "I never noticed you paying such attention to that skin before... what's changed since the last time I saw you?"
"Nothing," 'Rimururu' shook her head, continuing to snuggle and press up against his body. "You're just the same as when you left... it's like you didn't even leave! Shizu, you have to come back to Kamui Kotan - things are falling apart without you and without someone to protect the village, everything will be lost! Please... you have to return - I've come so far for you - "
"How far, exactly, is far, in this twisted world of yours?" Shizumaru's eyes narrowed, as he shook the doppleganger off of his back. "Not even love, I'm afraid, can pull Rimu to me - no matter how much I'd like it to. I wouldn't let her be drawn into such a situation as this," his anger was slightly piquing. "Do you think I can't even identify the girl I gave my heart to - the girl I love?" His umbrella, Kirisame, was by his side in a flash, ready to attack the false girl - whose face was now contorting into darkness, twisting into a black shadow and rising to enormous height.
"... Almost," the Phantasmagoria growled, with an echoing voice and scowl. "Your mind was ready to break - I almost had it, and - "
Shizumaru was at the Phantasmagoria in an instant, swinging his umbrella up as he sprung into the air, and it made a wide arc across in its path, cutting into the shadow deeply, but not enough to truly land a damaging hit. The samurai, perhaps, would've gone for the next hit, had the creature not been destroyed in the next second by gunshot fire (which had been preceeded by one hell of a battle cry). As Shizumaru landed on his feet, he brushed his hair out of his eyes to see who had been the one to destroy the doppleganger - a surprisingly familiar face.
"Nabeshin-san!" he waved to the red-tailored man, who was adjusting his tie (and pulling an AK-47 out of his afro). "I didn't know you were here - what took you from Kyoto to Ralph's tournament? Last I saw, you were quite involved in the affairs of the shogun... Jubei-san didn't try to come onto you, too, did he?"
"Nah, nothin' like that," Nabeshin grinned and shrugged. "There was just something else I had to do there for a bit, and that kind of happened on the side, you know. But... what's going on here? Why's he coming at us with green balls - " Asuka's possessed form was stalking towards them - " - and where'd he come from?" Nabeshin pointed to Culex, who was clearing his throat expectantly as a green crystal spun around him, flipping and twirling around in the air.
"I can't say," Shizumaru shook his head. "But... it's definitely looking up, now that you're here, Nabeshin-san. Have you got something for me again?" Though on second thought, Shizumaru didn't really have to ask - a second later, his hair, while still spiky to some degree, fuzzed up in a red ball of curls. A rush of power surged through him, and he felt more ready to fight then than he had against the Phantasmagoria... perhaps, even enough to take on Wrexsoul and the crystal knight, Culex, on his own - but that was, perhaps, a little out of his range.
Shizumaru patted his new 'fro, making sure Alma's gleipnir was still there - it was. With a quick nod to Nabeshin, and one from the red-tailored man likewise (Shizumaru noted, with amusement, that even his umbrella had sprouted a blue afro), the two of them eyed their respective opponents and charged.
-- _________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . Credo quia absurdum non credere. . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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Kyo Little Faith

Joined: 01 Jul 2002 Posts: 472 Location: Indefinite
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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Akira looked at Malak in half-disbelief. "You're saying I have to defeat this creature on my own, with this 'dark side' power you speak of?"
The Sith Lord looked at her in mild irritation, then turned his glance to the creature itself as his voice synthesizer crackled. "Yes. I dislike having to explain myself twice. Also, I don't think you have the time to be questioning me at the moment."
The former Gedo student sensed what he had meant immediately, and her body reflexively made a hop backwards as the shadowy creature swiped at where she had been a moment before. Instinctively switching into her fighting stance, she made a half-realization before she was forced to dodge the strange being's attacks again--it wasn't making any sound when it moved. Normally, she would attribute her extra senses to her hearing, but she had evaded this shadow in the exact same manner without hearing it.
The Force... is it?
Not that she was being given any time to think on that further, as the creature had now expanded its size to about double of what it had been before and was sending out long, whip-like tendrils of pure darkness at her. Her body again moved instinctively to dodge them, swaying to the left and right and being forced to perform a backflip as the small lines attempted to bind her in from behind. Deciding that she had dodged enough, Akira broke into a small sprint as she circled around to the creature's backside and attempted to slide in with a motionless uppercut.
Naturally, she was suprised when the monster did not react or retaliate to her movement. She was further suprise when her right hand met nothing but cold air, seemingly. The monster seemed to turn around rather slowly, and the biker girl would have retreated by now if her hand wasn't lodged in place by some unknown force. She made a quick glance towards Malak, who possessed a naturally unreadable expression on his face due to the steel device covering it up. He made no motion to assist her, but bored into her own brown eyes with his red pupils with a critical glare. Turning back to see the creature, Akira found that the being had half-turned by now, and was aiming those small tendrils at her forehead--seeking to steal her memories away--
NO!
And suddenly, her hand was free. Stumbling back from the creature's immediate range of attack, Akira shook her right hand in half-disbelief. What had just happened? Just now... I felt a spark of power I've never felt before. It was like my body was on fire, if just for an instant.
Looking back at Malak, she noted that the Sith's gaze was much less critical now--almost appraising instead of judging. Apparently, she had done something right in that moment.
The power of the Dark Side; the power that swordsman, Shizumaru, unleashed with so much force beforehand... I must have used it for a moment. If I can harness that, maybe it'll be the answer I've been looking for all this time...
But what exactly did I do?
The monster seemed to be rather displeased with her, however. The shadowy figured seemed to retract in upon itself, and then burst out with several more of the dark tendrils than it had produced before. These lines of darkness seemed thicker in size, and sped towards the Seijyun High student like lightning. Tucking her arms and feet in, Akira rolled out of harm's way and broke back into a sprint as more black tendrils whipped around to get to her. She managed to keep ahead of of the strange beams of darkness until she accidentially slipped on the chessboard's strangely-smooth surface, and within seconds her legs were bound with the strands of darkness. Quickly being dragged towards the monster, Akira struggled to free herself from her bonds--but the binding material itself seemed to consist of nothing but cold air, as her hand had felt when she had struck the creature.
I don't get this, but if I use my ki attacks... shouldn't it at least affect the monster?
Gathering what spiritual energy she had into her palms, Akira flipped forewards with a superhuman effort on her stomach muscles and blasted the shadowy being directly with her Kikoukai special. Violet-tinged plasma erupted forth from her hands into an expanding globe of energy that consumed the shadowy being entirely, engulfing it in an blinding light not dissimilar from Malak's own ruby-tinged lightsaber. Akira shielded her eyes from the light until it faded--
At first, she thought the darkness around her was just her eyes adjusting. Then she realized that her feet were still bound, and that the tendrils were now in range, and they were all snaking towards her head, seeking out her mind to drain it, which was spinning frantically--
"Passion, anger, the desire for victory and glory--the root of power and prestige."
Passion... Anger... I can't let something like this take Daigo away from me... I CAN'T LET IT TAKE DAIGO AWAY!
Her mind felt like it had shorted out for a moment, then her entire body was filled with that burning sensation... of the passion Malak had described, of that desire for victory. She turned that emotion loose on the creature without a second thought, outstreching her right hand towards the being and letting the power flow out of her, and was met with the oddly-satisfying scene of seeing the shadow crumple as it was wracked with blasts of what Akira could only describe as lightning. The shadow inverted upon itself until it was the size of a pea, then vanished from sight.
Her gloves gave off a bit of steam as she continued to stand there, her palm still outstretched towards the spot where the shadow had been. She felt as if some part of her had also just retreated upon itself and dissappeared as the shadow had, but it didn't seem to bother her very much.
Then she heard a slow set of claps from behind her--Malak was clapping?
"Well done." _________________
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Dareon 1.5% Margin of Error

Joined: 08 Jul 2002 Posts: 328 Location: Alaska, you fools! Stop being surprised!
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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Another office. This one's not quite so gray as the first. In fact, it's more pea-soup green. You've got to wonder who does the decorating at this complex. Anyway, it's a large office. Roughly the size of an aircraft hangar. Incongruously, the desk in it is normal size. For a human, anyway. Equally incongruously, a soft pink foam rubber stress reliever sits on one corner of the desk. Behind the desk is an individual roughly the size of an SUV. When describing the person, the first thing to pop into your head would be "tentacle monster." You'd be right, too. Tentacles, a bit of slime, smooth and shiny skin, overall green color... Yup, that's a tentacle monster all right. Though in this day and age they prefer "multiple-limbed being," to try and escape the stigmata of all that hentai. The effect of the giant room, large occupant and normal desk is almost comical. A brass nameplate on the front of the desk reads "Bal'sagörtheq, Recquistions."
All that and we still haven't gotten to the other occupant of the room. Ralph. Now hatless and with his tail still hanging out from underneath his coat. As we join them he seems to be wrapping up an explanation of what happened.
"...and so I need to recquisition another handheld as soon as possible. I assumed, since you are in charge of Supply..."
"And what can I do? I have to go through channels same way you do, Agent." The voice was a little gravelly, but not as resonant as you'd expect. Several tentacles moved in what would have been a shrug if this thing possessed shoulders.
Ralph sighed. "I just... I don't know. I know we need to follow proper channels, but I thought..."
"You thought what, Interplanar Agent Ralph? That I could somehow set aside 50 pages of rules and regulations regarding equipment use and replacement? I'm not even going to go into how much trouble you'll be in when it comes out you lost a handheld in a universe outside our immediate jurisdiction. If any of the natives find it..."
"You think I am unaware of that, Recquisitions Officer Bal'sagörtheq? Believe me, I tried to recover it on my own. That iteration of ALC is extremely unstable. I was unable to even locate it in that fog, and you know fog doesn't bother me. If I could not find it, I doubt any of the natives could. If things proceed according to canon, that iteration will change radically once its keystone comes along. That change will more than likely wipe out any and all record of outside interference. I know the risks, and it was my calculation that searching for the lost handheld would be more dangerous and take more time than returning for another one."
"Did your calculations take into account the time that would be spent on Internal Affairs investigations? Or the docking of salary? Or the fact that your currently-assigned group is unimportant?"
Ralph's eyes hardened. "They ARE important."
Bal spit out a word with too many odd sibilants and glottal stops for a human tongue to get right, though if you happened to understand Great Old One, you'd have fainted right then and there. "They are nothing more than numbers, Ralph. Pure and simple, they are figures in an account book. They do not matter to us."
"To you, perhaps. To me, to their universe, to their loved ones and friends, they are vital."
"They are one out of how many iterations of universes, Agent? You must see the big picture. They. Do. Not. Matter."
"The big picture? All right, Recquisitions Officer Bal'sagörtheq, think of the big picture. Think of it with 30 little bits missing out of so many. Then, think of it with another thirty. And another. And another. Because of an attitude like that, eventually there will BE no multiverse! You have to think how small things affect the big picture. Even more for long-lived or immortal beings like us. Every life we shift from its path should be cherished and protected while in our care. That's why I'm asking you directly instead of going through the usual week-long recquisition process." Ralph stopped, a little out of breath.
The tentacled horror sighed, a full-body affair. "And we're back where we started. If I issue you a handheld without authorization, it's my excretory apparatus."
"I am prepared to take full responsibility. Bal, if this was not so important, I'd have gladly gone through proper channels. As it is... I'm not asking as Interplanar Agent Ralph. I am asking as Ralph, the guy who helped you reel in two Midgardsörmrs."
Several eyes in the green mass swivelled to the walls, where two fish heads, each the size of a city bus, were mounted on wooden plaques. "You WOULD have to bring that up. You let a third one get away, though."
"It was going to drag you in. If I had not cut the line, I would be minus a friend."
"Ah, I'd have been okay."
"Come Fimbulwinter, perhaps."
Bal laughed then, a deep rumbling that resonated in your gut and made you want to be elsewhere as soon as possible. At least, it would have if you were actually there to hear it. "I did say I owed you for those. Still, this wasn't quite what I had in mind." With another full-body sigh, Bal pulled open a desk drawer with one tentacle, pulled out a handheld virtually identical to the one Ralph had lost, and tossed it to him. "Here. It's programmed a little differently, but that shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
Ralph was already pressing buttons. "Not at all. Thank you, Bal'sagörtheq. I will not forget this. I am in your debt now. Let me know what I can do to repay you."
"You can start by not losing that one."
"Of course, of course..." All business now, Ralph consulted the small screen. "Tuning to ALC 56920 complete, 31 lifeforms and related materials detected. That's correct... Let's see..." He frowned. "Signal disrupted by outside interference?"
"What?" The great green bulk leaned forward across the desk, an eye on the tip of a tentacle looping forward to read over the gray demon's shoulder. "The only things that can interfere with a handheld are Eternals, their artifacts, and other handhelds..." Bal paused, tapping several tentacles on a series of holographic pads below a display screen on the desk. "There's no record of Eternal involvement in that iteration, and the odds of an artifact suddenly materializing there are so long as to be practically impossible. That leaves your lost handheld."
Ralph scratched his head. "I must admit, this is surprising. On the one hand, we apparently have the unauthorized use of a handheld monitor console to interfere with the administration of an Interplanar Event. On the other hand, we have the recovery of a handheld monitor console from a situation it was feared lost in. I'll have to thank whoever's responsible before applying the mandated judgment."
"Also, on the gripping hand, we have a second handheld that has been checked out without regard to proper protocol. Go get your own console back and return the one you're holding as soon as possible."
"Affirmative. Don't worry, Bal. I'll handle it." The familiar snap of his fingers, and Ralph was gone. Bal'sagörtheq sat back, one tentacle idly squeezing and pounding the foam rubber stress reliever on his desk. The tentacle beast rumbled something that roughly translated as "optimistic fool," with undertones of failure and possible dismemberment. Not that that's foreshadowing or anything, Bal was just naturally pessimistic. |
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Helmar Brilliant Reflection

Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 57 Location: Cephiro
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Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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“…so you see, you should just never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise. That’s all there is to it. ”
Nova had been talking with Cat as she levitated back to the platform…and was beginning to have a sneaking suspicion of what the Cat really was. She wasn’t sure whether to be more afraid at the thought that she was right, or at the thought that she was wrong.
Nova stared at the Cat’s grin as she finally rose level with the platform. “Ara…I think I almost understood that. Now I’m scared.”
“Oh really, Nova-chan?”
Nova recoiled in mid-air as she heard the voice. Her stomach feeling like lead, she slowly turned to face the platform. A young girl stood there, dressed in crimson and gold armor with a broadsword in hand, red hair reaching down to her feet slowly swaying along with her cape…looking like nothing so much as a copy of Nova.
“Hik…Hikaru?”
The girl just nodded.
Nova’s face lit up. “Oh Hikaru! I’ve got so much to tell you! You wouldn’t believe what Cephiro looks like now!” Nova reached out to hug Hikaru, to feel her heart once more…
…and never saw Hikaru slash at her with the broadsword, a grin on her face. The sword stopped with a sickening clank as it stuck the armor by Nova’s neck, and Hikaru rose the sword for another attack.
“Hikaru! What’s wrong! Are…are you mad at me?” Nova asked in a piteous voice.
Hikaru just swung the sword again, which was deflected by a half-hearted parry by Nova.
“Please Hikaru…please forgive me. I’m sorry. I – I can’t tell you how much it hurts, knowing what pain I’ve caused you.”
Nova parried Hikaru’s chop with a weak hand, and only watched as the energy blade was blasted out of her hand.
“So please…please forgive me.”
Hikaru only stuck again, broadsword slicing through Nova’s armor…and sinking several inches into her side. Nova’s eyes glazed over as she fell from the platform’s level, blood trailing above her. Maybe she’s right…maybe I can’t be forgiven for what I’ve done. My life for Eagle’s…maybe it’s…her…right…
Nova’s eyes dimmed as she fell through the air.
“Is Hikaru really thinking that? ” The Cat’s grin had returned. “Or is it really Hikaru thinking that? ”
Nova thought back, thought of
Hikaru, sobbing out loud as the combined Rayearth’s sword piercing Princess Emeraude’s heart.
Hikaru, standing in front of Lantis. “They comforted me back in Tokyo…but I could see their eyes…I could see that they had been crying too, but they dried their tears to comfort me. So please, if you’re going to hit anyone for killing Zagato, hit me!”
Hikaru, looking at Eagle, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, Eagle. I know we’re supposed to be enemies…but I just can’t come to hate you!”
“Hikaru…wouldn’t do this…Hikaru…wouldn’t act like this…” Nova’s voice grew stronger, and she looked up to see Hikaru plummeting toward her, broadsword readied to pierce through her body.
“You’re not Hikaru!” Nova shouted as she raised a hand at the figure, a faint mist clinging to her hand. “Sapphire Typhoon!”
The mist around her hand whirled, and a massive waterspout shot towards the false Hikaru. As it was rent asunder by the water, Nova caught a glimpse of the figure’s true form: slightly taller than Shizumaru, it looked like darkness made incarnate. Nova cast Healing Wind, feeling better as her side healed.
Nova stepped back onto the platform. She summoned her swords, noting that the faint outline of actual blades could now be seen through the golden energy. She nodded; it confirmed her suspicions, but di-
“Well, even though you might not know everything…” the Cheshire Cat said as it appeared beside her.
“…I might suspect enough,” Nova said smugly, having finally caught the Cat at its own game.
“Hrmph. ”
“How much do you really know? About this world, about this tournament…”
“I know nothing about anything. Unless, that is, I know everything. About everything. ”
“Which would make you…”
“…mad as a hatter. Though not as mad as the hatter, I suspect. ”
“You’re the last voice of sanity, aren’t you?” Nova said this as more of a statement than a question.
“Pretty much. Though soon enough, there’ll be another. Succeed or fail, everything will change. Then again, that’s all change really is; it wouldn’t be change without change, now would it? ”
The Cat began to disappear. “Fare thee well, Daughter of Cephiro. Or rather, goodbye. I need to go see an old friend that came along with your group. ” The Cat’s voice began to fade as its mouth did. “I remember when we fought the Jabberwocky. He just reached…into that hair…used the vorpal…old one-two…”
Nova grinned as the Cat disappeared. All things aside, he wasn’t all that bad after all. She looked up, taking a glance around the platform…
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Pumpkins. Hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins. Nova watched as the pumpkins fought off a dozen clockwork toys, being smashed left and right. The pieces slowly regenerated, forming a new pumpkin with each tiny piece…which then jumped back into the fray to continue the cycle.
Nova frowned. She’d never be able to find anyone in a mess like that. She closed her eyes, concentrating on sensing the people around her. The feelings were…muddled. Probably due to the nature of this Wonderland, she suspected.
Many scattered spirits. Darkness. Two fighting…wrong deth? Two spirits…the twins…together, somewhere in all the pumpkins. Chaosdarknessshadowfiredeath. Two near each other, one shrouded in darkness, one slowly darkening. Three now…no, four…one blazing brightly…and a fifth nearby, slowly fading…
Nova thought for a moment, then nodded. She had made her choice. She slowly faded from sight…
*****************
“of Vanda. I have taken part in this tournament to fight this world's strongest Knights. I challenge... all of you." His burning eyes were focused most on the apparently-possessed Alter-user. "Do you accept my challenge? Will you enter into combat against me?"
Nova’s expression was grim as she heard this, materializing several dozen feet above and behind the crystalline being. Even from the brief moments she had been here, it was plain there was some…entity…overlaying Asuka’s form.
There weren’t too many options open. She could sit back, waiting for one side to overbalance the other - but then, Asuka. She could try to appeal to the Knight’s sense of honor, saying there wasn’t any honor in fighting the wounded - but Asuka’s aura only shone brighter from the possessing entity, not dimmer. She could try to challenge the Knight to single combat – but he had already issued his challenge, and would wait for an answer before answering hers.
She thought of simply telling the Knight no, briefly wondering if anyone had ever flat-out denied the Knight…but he had the same tone in his voice that Ferio did when he spoke to the Autozam diplomats, which likely meant he wouldn’t budge from that spot without the fight he wanted.
Nova’s eyes widened as she thought of a final possibility. She’d done it with Hikaru once…she burst into action before she could have any second thoughts. Nova dove at Asuka on a collision course, slowly fading from sight. Asuka braced himself as Nova struck…but felt nothing. Looking behind him, he didn’t notice anything.
What was that?
I don’t know.
Not that it matters. This body is even stronger than we thought!
*********
Nova opened her eyes. She was standing in a large reception area that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Autozam. Everything seemed…faded.
One wall was entirely made of glass, allowing a view of enormous buildings and an even larger wall. Taking a glance around, Nova noticed an immense emblem with four letters, dominating the wall before her.
HOLY
*************
Nova has entered Asuka’s mind, seeking the source of the possession. Should Wrexsoul be ejected before she finds the source, Nova will reappear beside Asuka. _________________

Last edited by Helmar on Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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